A Time For Us
by UltraM2000
Summary: (CHAPTER 12 -- NIGHTMARE ADDED) Gojyo finds a kindred spirit, but realises that some things never change...
1. Desire

Here I am again, this time with a Gojyo fluff fic. No S.L.Y. (Slash/Lemon/Yaoi-Yuri), although it may come across as a little—all right, a LOT OOC.  
  
I don't see Hakkai walking into SMK Assunta to replace any of the teachers *drools longingly* so Saiyuki still isn't mine. The names of Gojyo's parents are **NOT CANON**. 

The song playing at the start is Henry Mancini's A Time For Us, btw. That's what Gojyo's playing too. (Kouka, however, plays Tightrope: Medieval Version. *wink*) 

**A TIME FOR US  
By UltraM2000  
PART ONE  
DESIRE  
** __Yokubou

_ Mi do' ti mi mi so mi la… E C' B E E G E A _

_ _What's that sound?__

_ La so fa so so fa mi re mi re do re mi… A G F G G F E D E D C D E_

__I've heard it forever...this sad song...__

_ Mi do' ti mi mi so mi la re ti'… E C' B E E G E A D' B _

_ _It was 'kaasan's favourite…until_...___

_Mi do' ti la so do' ti la so la… E C' B A G C' B A G A_

_ _Until that day…the day kaasan tried to kill me…__

_ _Kaasan!__

_++++++++++_

**-Cho Hakkai-**

Every member of the Sanzo-_ikkou_ is an individual, each as different from the other as ice was from fire, as star was from stone. Hence, their reactions in given situations are, of course, unique. 

Say the ice in the group, high monk Genjo Sanzo, keeper of the Hell's Plane Sutra (and rightfully the Heaven's Plane Sutra as well—but that's a long story) had a nightmare. He would awaken calmly, light a cigarette and smoke Marlboros until the sun's weak light rolled over the hills. The stars—Son Goku—would wake up screaming like a lunatic and try (mostly unsuccessfully) seeking solace in our Sanzo_-sama_'s quarters. For myself, self-proclaimed rock, my lot was a silent awakening and a walk alone to calm my nerves. 

Tonight, however, the group's flame, Sha Gojyo, was the one who had a nightmare and since I was the one sharing an inn room with him, I got a front-row seat—or is that bed?—to 'witness' his reaction. Imagine yourself peacefully sleeping when something large and soft and heavy lands on your head. I believe you'd panic, wouldn't you? Well, so did I, admittedly. It was only after twenty seconds of flailing my arms madly did I realise it was just Gojyo's thick woolen blanket. I blearily registered my companion's form, right leg still at a 90 degree angle to the rest of him, crimson hair plastered to his sweaty face and crimson eyes scared, to use the vernacular, shitless. 

"Gojyo? Are you all right? Why is your blanket here?" 

Slowly, the leg descended and fell with a thud as its owner seemed to 'come down' from a trance. He blinked, at first, as if he didn't remember when he was. It came back to him eventually, though... 

"Eh? Oh. _Iya_, nothin' serious. Go back to sleep," he muttered gruffly, and got out of bed to take his blanket back. All the same, 'nothing serious' had drained all colour from his face and the spring from his step. His hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat and his voice shook. This I told him in polite but not uncertain terms. He snorted, sounding amused, and peeled his hair off his forehead. Try as he might, though, those errantly jaunty locks of hair refused to stand up straight. 

"Look, are you sure you're all right?" I asked concernedly. 

"_Ee. _Just a stupid nightmare." He sat down heavily on the side of my bed--and on my left foot as well. I wiggled my toes desperately but decided not to bother for the moment. "You got an aspirin?" I did. Gojyo accepted the Panadols and downed them in one go without even a drink of water. I offered him some, but he declined and mumbled something about taking them neat.

"Thanks, Hakkai. Goodnight."

"Wait just a second, Gojyo. Just one question."

"Hm?"

"What was that dream about, if you don't mind me asking?"

Gojyo gave me a long, hard look. "Sorry,Hakkai. I _do_ mind you asking," he replied before turning over on his side and pulling the covers over his head.

And so, I did as Gojyo did._ Pretended_ to go to sleep.

_++++++++++ _

**-Son Goku-**

For some reason on that night I couldn't sleep. I know I wasn't too cold because I had a nice fluffy blanket. I wasn't too hot because I was sleeping right under the fan in a sleeping bag. I know I wasn't hungry because Sanzo had told me in very plain language if my stomach even made one small noise during the night, he'd kill me. He sounded serious, and his eyes were drooping quite a bit more than usual. Killing _youkai_ sure takes a lot out of a man. He was snoring contentedly--yeah, you heard that right, _contentedly_--on the bed that he'd played _jan-ken-pon_ with me to win. I wonder how he always knows what I'm going to put out. His stone crushed my scissors, AGAIN! 

So anyway, I decided to go take a walk around and see if I could get sleepy. I left Sanzo alone and strolled out, fluffy pillow squashed under my arm (you never know--Sanzo _just_ might think of taking it away). It was a beautiful moonlit night, and I skipped slightly as I trotted along, humming softly to myself. Ah, now Sanzo wasn't in earshot I could be as hungry as I wanted. A nice big _nikuman_ and a glass of soda would be nice at the moment. 

It was then I saw _erogappa_ coming out of his room. The cigarette stuck between his lips glowed a soft orange at the tip as he walked down the stairs. Minutes later, someone else opened the door and sneaked out after him. 

"Hakkai!" I chirped happily. "Are you hungry too--*mmph!*" 

Hakkai hurriedly dragged me into the shadows just before Gojyo whirled round. I looked up at him questioningly, but he just shook his head, winked with his good left eye and put a finger to his lips. I soon heard Gojyo's heavy footsteps go down the stairs, and Hakkai released his hold. 

"What was all THAT for?" I hissed. 

"Sorry, Goku," Hakkai said with an apologetic smile. Aw, nuts, how could I be angry now? "You see, Gojyo had a nightmare and I'm just trying to make sure he doesn't do anything silly." 

"But he always does silly things." 

"Sillier than usual, I mean." 

"Like when Sanzo is out-of-sorts?" 

"Like when I'M out-of-sorts." 

"Oo. OK. I gotcha. Let's go!" 

We sneaked downstairs after him. I tried to be quiet and not giggle but didn't do too well. Hakkai had to keep on shushing me. Sorry, Hakkai, I couldn't help it! This was fun! Just as we thought, Gojyo walked straight into the bar. He must have wanted a drink to go back to sleep. 

It was only about five minutes later that we heard the music. It was soft and pretty, and it made me tingle all over for some reason. Hakkai says good music does that to people sometimes. Slowly, softly, we pushed open the door and peeked inside. 

Geez, I never expected THAT! 

_++++++++++ _

**-Sha Gojyo-**

Odd. I _swear_ I heard a voice behind me. 

I couldn't say this to any of the others, but I needed someone that night. No, not in a physical manner--just someone who could listen to the voice of one very messed-up hanyou. They don't know the depth of the greatest of my many sins--existence. Crimson eyes and crimson hair are a daily reminder that I am a half-breed, a hybrid, the love child of Sha Ren and Shuu Juko. Don't ask me how I learned my birth mother's name when she died during childbirth. I have my ways. 

You gotta hand it to that freakish dream! It did something no _youkai_ ever could; scared seven shades of shit and 10 litres of sweat outta me. Nice as Hakkai was to ask me if anything was up, I shooed him off for two reasons. One, he'd had a long day on his feet. Two, if I told him what I dreamt about, he'd die laughing before I finished. 

I took another drag off my Hi-Lite and flicked the grey ash onto the floor as I clumped off down the stairs. Let's see whether that bar was still open. The liquor I'd tasted that night was the best in a long while, and I was raring for another taste. If only it was potent enough to knock me out! Never mind. One cask should do it. Or maybe two... 

...Or maybe none. Nobody was staffing the place. A small snort escaped my lips as I looked around a bit. Eesh, still cluttered...but that was my fault. Wouldja believe some drunken wahoo mistook me for a girl and pinched my ass? That bit is off-limits to everybody except the chicks. I nailed him good and proper, that is until I kicked him out the door and Sanzo kicked ME up the stairs, cursing and swearing fit to turn the air blue. I get the feeling Goku's going to be asking Hakkai and me the meanings of certain 'interesting' words tomorrow. 

There was also another reason I was down here. I'd noticed it while we were having dinner (read: while _saru_ wasgrabbing everybody's share of the chow). It looked beaten-up, warped and worn, and had definitely seen better days. 

Still, it was rare to find _any_ musical instrument these days, and a piano is a piano. 

There was a cruddy old bar stool in front of the sorry instrument, so I sat down on that. It creaked threateningly, but held my weight. Silently, I opened the cover and gazed upon the yellowing ivories. It had been a long time since...those old and innocent days. I ran my fingers over the keyboard hesitantly, and what happened? A mouse, two rats and a centipede jumped out of the innards of the damn thing! I kicked the rats about two feet into the air, stepped on the tail of the mouse and squished the centipede with the heel of my boot. Disgusting creatures, these centipedes. But at last, it seemed, I was alone. 

I laid my fingers on the keys and began to play. And as I did so, my heavy-heartedness melted slowly into the night. 

_++++++++++ _

**-Genjo Sanzo-**

These idiots will never leave me in peace. So there I was, sleeping peacefully for once. No demon was trying to kill me. No little demonic bitch was trying to eat me. No long-haired pansy demon trying to snitch my sutras. No demigod freaking me out by continually calling me Konzen. No Goku tugging on my sleeve and whining "_Ne Sanzo, hara hetta_..." 

Oh that stupid monkey. 

It was in the middle of a particularly relaxing REM wave that I heard it. I tried to ignore it, desperately clutching at my fast-flying slumber, but it packed up and left, leaving Genjo Sanzo wide awake with piano music dancing through his ears.

It was quite good, but the fact remained that it was two o' clock in the morning and it was disturbing my sleep. I muttered to Goku to wake up and prepare for a fight. No such luck. The monkey was gone. His sleeping bag was all over the floor. Shedding my bedroom slippers for my normal straw sandals, I hitched up my robes and stomped downstairs. IfIfindoutwhodidthisI'mgoingtokillhimheroritinwayssopainfulthey'veneverevenbeenconsideredbeforebyGyuumaou... 

Guess what I found downstairs. Hakkai and Goku were standing at the door of the inn bar, apparently watching something very sneakily. Goku was still clutching his freaking pillow, for crying out loud! What else could I do but whip out my harisen and bash the living daylights out of the monkey? 

"You freakin' idiot, what are you doing out here? Where's that music coming from?!" I almost bellowed. 

"Owwwww..." moaned Goku and pointed. Hakkai motioned for me to be quiet and nodded towards the door. 

I knew the bar had an old piano, but I never expected to see Sha Gojyo, of all people, playing it. And I never thought a _hanyou_ (half-demon) could be so beautiful. The fingers that I constantly saw wrapped round a shakujou, women's waists and Goku's throat were fingering the old keys with a delicate reverence, the tones issuing from them firm and sure. His eyes were closed in rapt concentration and his head swayed from side to side, following the music. 

"Yang Ming," I muttered. 

"_Are_?" Goku and Hakkai said at once. 

"You remember Yang Ming, don't you? Mother of that little _hanyou_? The bee lady?" 

"Yeah, the bee lady. What about her?" 

"This is the stupidest smile I've seen on Gojyo's face since then!" 

Truth be told, I had never before seen such a look of peace on Gojyo's face while he was sober. In his hands, the piano was a grand old instrument capable of an endless sonata to life, and across the keyboard, Gojyo was a crimson-haired angel. 

I might have gone on thinking in this soppy manner had Hakkai's head not appeared over my shoulder right then and murmured "He's quite good, isn't he?" 

I grudgingly agreed. But he was disturbing my sleep. 

_ Harisen_, don't fail me now. 

_++++++++++ _

**-Sha Gojyo-**

As the last notes faded and died, I leaned back from the keyboard and exhaled, sending a cloud of silver smoke into the air. The copper wires that made up the piano's throat still shimmered richly. I patted the instrument's side softly, pleased at the result. I hadn't quite lost it yet. Neither had this old chunk of junk. 

_ T__hat is no way to play such a beautiful song_._ I will teach you how, if you wish to learn_. 

_ Kaasan_...Argh! Thinking of her dampened my spirits slightly. A slow pang rose through my gut and chest. I was going back to bed. The piano had served its purpose to me. Why was I playing it, anyway? 

Oh wait, yes, that's right. I had a dream about the stupid thing. I turned to go back to my room. Hope I didn't wake anybody up. 

Those hopes were dashed when a familiar paper fan landed on my head and I suddenly found myself staring down the barrel of a very familiar Smith and Wesson. 

"You idiotic redhead, what in blue hell was you doing PLAYING A DAMN PIANO AT EXPLETIVE THREE IN THE MORNING?" 

"_Naa_, Sanzo, don't scold him, it was nice music!" piped up Goku. He was unusually bright-eyed, considering the late hour. "Hey _erogappa_, play again!" 

"Shut up!" I hissed. 

"I don't care whether it was nice or not, we came here to SLEEP, not to listen to MUSIC! One more note and I'll splatter your perverted brains all over the wall, you hear me?!" Sanzo roared, unaware his decibel level was waking up some other people in rooms a floor above. 

"Crystal clear, O Mighty Sanzo," I replied, voice dripping with sarcasm, and I sauntered off to bed. Somehow I felt tons better after insulting the _bouzu_. Very therapeutic, it was. 

*_swish* THWAPPPPPP_!!! 

"OWWWW! Watch where you throw your bloody _harisen_! That HURT!" 

"That's the general idea," Sanzo replied, shoving it back into his robes. 

"Now, now, everyone, let's not argue at three in the morning…" 

"_Mou_, I wanna hear that music again, Sanzo…" 

*click* 

"Or maybe I don't…" 

It took five minutes to fully restore peace, but after that I finally managed to get back to bed. Lying on my side to prevent more pain to the swollen lump on the back of my head, I closed my eyes. A little strain of piano music wafted through my memories and I smiled a bittersweet smile. 

_++++++++++ _

**-Cho Hakkai-**

Ice, fire, star and stone fell back into nocturnal silence. 

_++++++++++ _

**-Son Goku-**

The piano spoke no more. 

_++++++++++ _

**-Genjo Sanzo-**

But as Goku repeated ceaselessly for the rest of the night, the music stayed on.

I never thought of Gojyo as musical. The closest he gets is making the bedsprings creak at night.

_++++++++++ _

_ Sha Jien was a very confused young lad. He didn't know where his father had disappeared to for almost a year. He didn't know why he had returned suddenly, handed her a bundle, told her to take care of it and left. He REALLY didn't know why his mom was sitting at the kitchen table fuming as a babe's wailing rose from Sha Ren__'s empty bed._

_Jien tugged his mom's sleeve tentatively. "Kaasan, Gojyo's crying." (That was his name. Go-jou, 'understanding purity'. Kouka had burst into mad laughter for some reason when it dawned on her.)_

_ "Leave him be," came the cold reply._

_ "But kaasan...!"_

_ "Leave him be, I said!" she snarled. "Don't you go near him! He's a hanyou, damn it, Sha Ren's dirty taboo hanyou son!" Kouka slammed the table hard with her fist and slumped down, crying up a storm._

_ Jien swallowed. He scuttled off into his parents' room, despite his mother's cautioning. The crying hadn't stopped. Jien picked him up and tried to soothe him best as he could.__ "Shh, shh, it's OK...there...cooin' at me now, are ya?" Jien laughed softly, rocking back and forth. "You don't LOOK taboo...you're kinda cute! Look at those lovely red eyes, just like poppies. Naa, don't cry, little bro. Even if kaasan leaves you alone, I never, EVER will." _

_ It was then that Jien heard it--the slow strains that cut the silence. Kouka was sitting at her beloved old piano, playing an old melody with the tones dipped in metallic anger. It was as if she was pouring her soul out into that one piece, all her hatred and resentment and sorrow. Jien didn't know music could be so expressive. Jien also didn't know that the babe in his arms seemed to be listening to the music._

_ Almost appreciatively, at that..._

++++++++++


	2. Sunset

**M2000:** The day I own Saiyuki is the day Firnheledien becomes a Saiyuki fan!  
**Firn: **M2000, look at my Sanzo piccie! Eeeeeee, _SANZO-SAMAAAAAAA!!! _  
**M2000: **...OK, OK...so the day I own Saiyuki is the day my friend Kdasher develops a passion for Gojyo.  
**Kdasher: **Gojyo...he's so attractive *happy hearts*  
**M2000: **Why do I even bother?! And forgive the unusual mix of Japanese and Chinese used throughout the fiction.At least I'm not breaking Gojyo's wrist like I said I would at the end of 'Smile Of The Father'.  
**Gojyo: **So why do I still get this creepy feeling I'm not going to make it through the fic ALIVE?! 

**PART TWO  
SUNSET  
**_Yuuyake_

_ When Sha Gojyo came home from school that day, he never expected the sudden change about to occur. Dropping his schoolbag on the floor with a dull 'clump', he pulled out a notebook and two squashy, soggy sandwiches. Sitting cross-legged on one of the wooden chairs around the dining table, he arranged the items a little and went on with his homework. Occasional bits of tuna and breadcrumbs floated down onto his book and he brushed them away, leaving traces of oil on the pages. He would tell the teacher they were candle-wax stains._

_Silent. TOO silent. Gojyo put down his pencil somewhere between a numerator and denominator and looked about. Where WAS kaasan, anyway? His gaze flitted idly round the room and rested finally, unusually, on an object he had been told never to touch, never to even go near: t__he piano in the corner of the room._

_ Lord knows what possessed the child that day to get up and walk towards the piano, against everything his mind was screaming at him. He pushed the keyboard cover up, black and white keys staring back up at him in simple beauty. Tentatively, as if they would break or scream an alarm if he touched them, he plinked out a simple scale. Emboldened, he did it again. Nice!_

_ Gojyo abandoned all fear and climbed upon the piano stool. He thought for a while and decided to play one of his kaasan's favourite songs. A quick scale to decide which note to start with, and he started pressing keys. It was crude, with no background or embellishment, but the notes were uncannily right. Not bad for a first-timer, not bad at all... _

_Mi do' ti mi mi so mi la..._

_The sudden shadow that fell across Gojyo's line of sight stilled him, and his fingers died upon the keys. Sha Kouka was looming over her stepson like a shadow of death. Gojyo's pulse multiplied exponentially and the colour drained from his face, crimson hair and eyes contrasting even more with his complexion._

_ He expected to be sent flying off the stool any moment now. Kouka was tall and sturdy, even for a female youkai, and Gojyo had felt her blows more than once. They hurt, and always accompanied tears. Here was this shame to her reputation playing her precious piano; he could expect no less than death._

_The blow never came, and much to Gojyo's surprise, her eyes were dry._

_"That is no way to play such a beautiful song," she said slowly, softly. "If you are going to be a disobedient little bastard and play my piano, you had better do it right. I will teach you how, if you wish to learn."_

++++++++++ 

The sun was dipping slowly under the horizon as Jeep chugged along. Birds fluttered across the expanse of sky, chirping as they headed home to their nests. The cool wind whipped Hakkai's fringe about in the wind and he smiled to himself. It felt really good. The sutras about Sanzo's shoulders made a pleasant flappy sound in the breeze. 

Yes, it would be a perfect little picture if not for the sounds of squabbling coming from the back. 

"A­-h! Oi, _baka no erogappa_! (You stupid horny kappa) What did you do?" 

"I can't stand seeing you sleep so peacefully when I have a splitting headache from your snores!" 

"That doesn't mean you can draw all over my face!" 

"You don't like it? I think the beard and warts suit you, no?" 

"Oh yeah? Give me back my marker pen!" 

"Uh? Hey, what?! Oi! Don't touch my hair! Uwaaargh! _Kono bakazaru_! (You idiot monkey)" 

Sanzo had just about had enough and almost launched himself into the back seat(s), his harisen singing across the duo's heads. "Will you all SHUT UP?! Or must I hammer holes into your stuffy little skulls?" 

"Hey, Hakkai, when are we going to reach the next town?" a voice piped up from the back after 15 (blessedly silent) minutes. 

"Don't worry, Goku. The map here says there's a town called Weishan some distance away, so please hold back your appetite until then," Hakkai replied. 

"Aren't you asking for the moon on this one?" snickered Gojyo, which prompted another round of squabbling between the two backseat passengers to be silenced by several shots from Sanzo's Smith and Wesson. 

It was just then that Hakkai spotted the youth walking down the road in front of them. Although the dust of the road covered him from head to foot, he walked with a sure and easy grace, humming softly. Which meant he at least knew where he was going. 

"Excuse me," Hakkai called out to the youth, slowing Hakuryuu down. "How far to Weishan from here?" 

"Weishan?" the youth repeated, almost as if in disbelief. As he turned, the _ikkou_ noticed two small scars ran down one side of his face, puckering the otherwise flawless skin. He recovered quickly, though, and replied politely "About twenty miles away, but based on the current situation, _aniki _(brother), it's not a good idea for you to go there." 

"Huh? But why?" Goku asked, startled. 

"There's something you should know about the town of Weishan. Even afore the Minus Wave hit Tougenkyou, the folk of Weishan have had a passionate distaste for demons and their kind. I daresay they'd feel contaminated sharing breathing space with anything other than their pure-blooded human selves." 

"You are a demon, then, based on your tone?" Sanzo asked in his usual straightforward fashion. 

"No, I am not--but I do believe that human and youkai can coexist. In any case," he continued, recognising the blonde demon-killing monk, "if Genjo Sanzo-_sama _still insists on going there, it could prove dangerous to his companions..." 

"Oi, you. When was I ever supposed to feel concerned about these three?" 

"Wouldn't expect to hear anything less from you," came a threefold reply. 

The young man didn't quite know what to make of the situation. "Lord Buddha have mercy on us all," he breathed. "Look here, I still think it's not the best idea. Urban life is overrated. I live in Feiyan Village about five miles from here. Why not stop over at my folks' place for a while?" 

"That's very kind of you, but we couldn't possibly impose on you like that. Besides, we need to buy provisions," Hakkai replied politely. 

"Some of us also want to explore the nightlife," muttered Gojyo. Sanzo notched up a mental I.O.U. for a harisen swat later. 

"Erhm. You WILL have to enter Weishan, then. Well, I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He studied all of them closely for a while, appearing to be in deep thought. "Yes, I think I can arrange a solution, though. How about it? My offer appeal to you lot?" 

"You seem pretty insistent about this. What's the catch?" asked Sanzo. 

"What catch? No such thing. Here, think about it, _bouzu_," he replied, eliciting a choked exclamation from the '_bouzu_' (monk) and stifled gargles of mirth from the back seat, "there ain't no-one who's going to give you free board and room in Weishan. They're all pretty much a bunch of penny-pinchers. One sen is like a car tyre to them. Besides..." He leant over Sanzo and grinned a grin very familiar to the monk, because it was usually visible when Gojyo had plans of an indeterminate nature up his sleeve. "...If you go to Weishan, they're sure to ask for a sermon. It's been a long time since a holy man of your *prestigious* standing deigned to stop by there...I'm sure they'll want to keep you for a nice loooong time..." 

Never mind the fact that THIS Sanzo was anything but 'holy' or 'prestigious', that did it; the youth had somehow managed to push one of Sanzo's rare and few buttons. The monk gave a curt nod and jerked his head towards the back. "Get in, show us the way and keep those two nuts with you quiet. Try anything silly and I'll blow your brains out." 

"Not on the upholstery please, Sanzo," Hakkai interrupted as he shifted Hakuryuu's gears, and there was a frantic squeak of agreement somewhere under the viridian vehicle's bonnet. 

"_Naa, namae nante iu no?_" Goku piped up. 

"Oh, me? The name's Hong Lang Ying, but folks round here call me Ah Ying. _Yoroshiku, bouya_ (Please to meet ya, kid)." In a rather unorthodox greeting, he touched the tips of the first two fingers of his hand to his temple in a swift salute. 

"Hey! My name's Goku, Son Goku! I'm no _bouya_!" 

++++++++++ 

Ah Ying directed them off the main road onto a smaller lane barely wide enough for a car to travel on, and they arrived at Feiyan Village in twenty minutes, around dusk. It was a small village with a small population, one of those places where everyone is your neighbour. One or two people stopped to chat with Ah Ying and ask about his guest. Surprisingly, the name 'Genjou Sanzou' did not raise as big a fuss as you might think; they merely wished him good luck on his journey and did not stop to drool, kowtow or ask for a sermon. 

_I think I could get to *like* it here,_ thought Sanzo. 

"Where's your home, Ah Ying?" asked Goku. 

"End of the road," Ah Ying replied, and motioned for them to follow him. They eventually reached a humble wooden dwelling, clean and neat despite its small size with vegetables and flowering plants planted in neat rows in the garden around it. Round the back, they could hear the sound of chickens and what sounded like a sheep bleating. A woman with hair dark and glossy as a raven's wing was kneeling in a row of carrots, pulling up weeds, but looked up when Ah Ying appeared. 

"Welcome back, Lang Ying," she said with a warm smile, pushing her hair from her face. "And who are these people with you?" 

Ah Ying introduced his mother, Sheng Wei, and told her about the day's events. She nodded and smiled at the four. "You must all be hungry. Please, do come in. I'm preparing dinner as we speak." 

"Wa! Sankyuu!" beamed Goku. 

Gojyo grinned. "Lady, if you cook as good as you look, it's going to be a VERY good night." 

Ying casually flung his arm out in such a way as to jab Gojyo in the ribs. "_Ah ma_, where're _ah ba_ and Ji?" he asked innocently as his guest wheezed painfully. 

"Ji's round the back. Your father is inside the house. I'll come in when I'm done weeding the vegetables." 

"You sure you wouldn't like some help with those carrots?" Gojyo asked, turning on his famed kappa charm. Sheng Wei giggled, Ah Ying gaped at Gojyo's audacity and Sanzo massaged his forehead. 

"I couldn't possibly impose on you like that," she said with a warm smile. "Go inside and make yourselves comfortable, Sanzo-_san_, Gojyo-_san_, Hakkai-_san_, Goku-_kun_." 

They did. Ying's abode was simply but tastefully furnished, showing signs of a frugal existence. A man with hair greying at the temples was snoozing in a well-worn armchair, his glasses slipping off his nose. Ah Ying sighed and shook his shoulder. 

"Hey, _ah ba, _wake up, we have visitors," he said loudly. Mr. Hong woke with a start and stared up at his son and the four very strange guests he had brought in. 

"Forgive my rudeness, gentlemen," the old man greeted them, adjusting his glasses. As he struggled to his feet, the _ikkou_ noticed that one of his legs was bent in a decidedly unnatural direction and he needed the assistance of a cane to stand and walk. "My name is Hong Wu. Please, make yourselves at home. Ji! Hong Zhen Ji! Come and greet our guests!" 

A young boy of not more than seven or eight emerged from the kitchen, and his face brightened when he saw his brother was home. "_Oniisan_!" he cried, and tackled Ah Ying's leg. The youth hefted his brother up and ruffled his hair. 

"Zhen Ji! All right, you little scamp, now behave and greet our guests properly. This is Genjou Sanzou-_houshi-sama_ and his companions." 

"Hello Sanzo-_sama_! Hello Sanzo-sama's friends!" 

It took some time for Gojyo to realise what was bugging him. Zhen Ji's short, messily ruffled mop of hair was bright crimson, just like his, and although his eyes did not have so much of the sharp, angular quality of Gojyo's (yet), they possessed the same heavy lashes and scarlet irises. He was a demon-hybrid. 

"Ah Ying...er..." Gojyo began, wondering how to phrase his question. Whatever words had come to mind, though, fled at the sight of what happened next. 

Ah Ying removed his bandanna, letting long, lustrous black hair fall over his shoulders. Then, however, he removed a ring on his finger and shuddered as it relinquished its power over him. The youth's dark, thick mane seemed to be becoming lighter and lighter to Gojyo, shifting across the spectrum of colour until it was as red fire dancing across his back. 

_I don't believe this..._ 

"Ying, you're a _ hanyou_ too?!" spluttered Gojyo. 

++++++++++ 

And now, review thanks... 

**real-circus**--Yes, I have a major thing for pianos. No, I don't play although I'd like to learn. Thanxers for reviewing!

**ayie**--Don't worry, I like your stories too! Keep writing! :)

**H. Mauvecloud **-- Let me guess, YOU'RE a B-type Scorpio? ;)

**Krimson** -- IC? In Character? Whew, thanx!

**L.L. Artemisan** -- The error's been corrected. A _nikuman_ is a _char siew pow_. Yes, I wish my Sejarah teacher was Cho Gonou...at least he'd COME INTO CLASS...

**Azzie**--O...well, I'm an A-Aries, and I can play the recorder and compose Saiyuki ringtones on my own ;) Tell Sanzo I'll send him something that will really put him to sleep in, oh...chapter four onwards...


	3. Madder

DISCLAIMER: I shall only own Saiyuki should a certain Gojyo cosplayer win the inaugral CosMas cosplay contest (and 'Gojyo' doesn't even know if 'Gojyo' should register because it is the first time 'Gojyo' is cosplaying) 

Warning to Gojyo fans, there's quite a fair bit of Gojyo torture in here. *ducks plastic shakujous, guns, red flowers and...condoms?!* 

**PART THREE  
MADDER  
**_Akane_

_ Do re mi fa so la ti do..._

_ It had been some time after the piano incident, and Gojyo found himself under the fearsome tutelage of his stepmother. It turned out she had a good ear for music, and was now listening to her stepson play different scales, head to one side._

_ So far, so good. Gojyo felt a little more confident now, and sped up a little. Unfortunately, his finger slipped, he missed a key and the resulting jarring note made Kouka snap her head upright again and frown._

_ "G-gomen yo, kaasan! That wasn't on purpose! Please don't be mad!" he stammered fearfully in apology, face paling once again.__ Kouka glared down to see a crimson-haired figure cowering before her, trembling like a leaf. Pathetic individual. Pathetic stepson. Pathetic bastard child who could somehow play the piano with unusual skill..._

_ _Get a hold of yourself, Kouka. __

_ "What's the matter with you, eh?" she snapped at Gojyo._

_ The reply was rather muffled, as the boy was shielding his head from any intended blows with his thin arms. "I'm sorry, kaasan. I never meant to make you angry, honest! I won't make any more mistakes! I only wanted to make you happy with my playing, because...because I never made you happy with me before," he finished in a small voice._

_ "...Idiot..."_

_ "Huh?" Gojyo looked up. Kouka was squinting at him in a not entirely unpleasant manner._

_ "Start again, and no-more-mistakes. I mean it. Hiké! Play!" she barked._

_ It was more of an order than anything else, but Gojyo had never felt so eager to obey before. She had given him a chance, a rare chance. Finally._

_ "H-hai!"_

++++++++++ 

"...Ying, you're a _ hanyou_ too?!" spluttered Gojyo. 

"As much as you are," replied Hong Lang Ying as he tied his long crimson hair up into a ponytail. For some reason, though, he left his lopsided fringe loose, and while he looked at Gojyo with his sharply angled right eye, the left one was obscured behind a curtain of hair that flowed down to Ying's shoulder. 

_Well, perhaps he was born blind,_ thought Gojyo to himself, _or he grows his hair out for the same reason I do. All the same, Shing Wei and Hong Wu seem like nice enough individuals..._ He winced involuntarily. He had a sudden urge to scratch his itching left cheek. 

"Hey, Gojyo, what are ya doing? I'm going to eat your share of the food if you don't come quick!" yelled Goku. 

"You wouldn't dare, monkey!" roared Gojyo, galloping towards the dining table. His thoughts were lost in the pursuit of nutrition. 

++++++++++ 

The stars were very bright that night, Gojyo noted as he chewed the tip of an unlit cigarette. Everyone had gone straight to bed, and the whole house was silent. Unfortunately, Gojyo hadn't gone to bed earlier than ten since he was fourteen, and staying in his bedroom sleeping the night away was not his idea of how to spend the time. 

The demon-hybrid looked around the room he'd been given. Smallish, but cleanly and simply furnished. Ah Ying and his family lead quite a frugal existence. Surely, the young one must have been supporting his family for some time, as he doubted Hong Wu could work properly with his crippled leg. Gojyo had caught a glimpse of it as his host had shuffled off to bed--it was thin, pale and withered looking, in stark contrast with his other three still strong, tan limbs. 

There was a soft knock on the door just about then. "Gojyo-_han_. You in there?" 

"Nope," came the quick reply. "I've jumped out the window and I'm sitting in your mom's carrot patch smoking cigarettes." 

"Funny." The door opened and Ying appeared. "I came to check on all of you. Is everything all right?" 

"Yes, except for one thing. What do you DO here for fun?" 

"Sit in the living room and read," Ying deadpanned. He burst out laughing at the resulting disgusted expression from Gojyo. "I work to support my folks and my kid brother, Gojyo-_han_. Any leisure time I have, either I read or I sleep." 

"You have a very weird idea of what fun is, Ying." 

"So do you," came the counter. Ying laughed silently. "Sa Gojou, 'Sand Understanding Purity'. Nothing could be further from the truth--you're the horniest, dandiest individual I've ever been privileged to meet." 

"Why, thank you! I'm flattered."

Ying smiled, sighed nevertheless and looked out the window. "But I think, however, you and me understand that word more deeply than anyone." 

"Speak for yourself. I don't follow," Gojyo lied. 

"How long has the stigma of being a _hanyou_ existed, I wonder, Gojyo-_han_? We're regarded as the lowest of the low. A few notches above the _itan_, the heretics, and several levels below a demigod. After all, who would dare point fingers at a god's taste for 'different flavours'? The mixture of human and demon genetics, however, seems always within reach of ridicule. I don't think a human could believe that the bonds of love could extend to a species they find positively sickening. Likewise demons." 

"Then, your parents...and Zhen Ji..." 

Ying shook his head. "We are born from the same mother and father," he replied. "My old man knew well beforehand about his bride, and my mom and her whole family had no objections. They swore they would teach us that crimson-haired or no, we were part of this world and had a right to assert our place in it." Ying smiled wryly. "Although Zhen Ji is still too young to realise the fearful implications of his crimson eyes and hair." 

"It attracts the girls all right."

"Yes, it does, doesn't it?" Ying marked dryly.

"Funny that you should hide it so thoroughly, then. I'm surprised none of the chicks swoon over you. About this evening...your ring..." 

"Ah, I'm too much of a homeboy to be swooned over, Gojyo-_han_. And this--" he held up his ring, a twin band of silver etched with a pattern of feathery ribs-- "is a _hanyou youryoku_ limiter. It doesn't affect your strength or genetics, but it DOES mask your eye and hair colour, which saves a lot of trouble." 

"A **hanyou **demonic limiter? Such a thing doesn't exist!" 

"Seriously. My mother is the resident limiter-smith, and she learnt the skills to make one for me so I could go out and work without having to worry about being assailed by anyone." 

"Very useful." 

"Very. The sunglasses and the bandanna are extra measures, you see. What I hide behind my left fringe isn't pretty." 

"We all have scars, Ah Ying," Gojyo replied, tilting his head up slightly. The moonlight caught the angry scars that cut the width of his cheekbone. "Who inflicted yours?" 

"Only myself, I'm afraid." Ying's eye narrowed. "I have found it hard to trust anyone since my youth," he continued softly. "Hated by humans. Shunned by demons. In this world, you may trust nobody. Trust only yourself, and you will survive." He realised how harsh his words must have sounded, and his cheeks coloured slightly. "Well," he mumbled as he pushed away from the window, "if all is well..." 

"Just answer me one question. What CAN you do here for fun?" Gojyo asked casually, as if resuming the non-philosophical part of the conversation. 

Ying's lips turned up in a half-smile. "How about I tell you over at the village bar? They make a great _maotai_ liquor blend." 

"Now you're talking!" Gojyo beamed, flashing his teeth in a rakish smile. 

"You pay, if course." 

"Ah, nuts!" 

"..._Nanchatte ne?_" (Just kidding) 

++++++++++ 

Gojyo was down very late for breakfast the next morning. Hakkai expressed quite a bit of concern, as his redheaded comrade was usually up by breakfast, come rain or shine, but Sanzo suggested he just drink his tea and enjoy the silence. Goku took it upon himself to finish Gojyo's share of the vittles. 

"_Naa_, Goku-_san_, save some for your friend, won't you?" Zhen Ji piped up, tugging on Goku's sleeve as he guzzled a third bowl of rice porridge. 

Sanzo almost got a faceful of Goku-chewed congee at that. "FRIEND?!" 

"He's your enemy, then?" 

"Nah. Just a convenient person to irritate." 

"I HEARD that, _saru_. *hic*" 

"Gojyo! Good morning! Are you quite...er...all...right?" Hakkai's cheerful greeting faltered as Sha Gojyo made his appearance. To put things kindly, the man was an absolute WRECK. His hair usually bore only the faintest semblance of neatness, but it was now sticking up in twenty directions from his scalp and his face was a very nasty, sickly colour. 

Goku very unkindly, though not surprisingly, burst out laughing. "So that's why you were so quiet last night! You sneaked out for a drink, and now your pickled kappa face's the colour of pigeon droppings!" he guffawed. Zhen Ji quietly decided he didn't feel hungry anymore. 

"He had too much to drink last night," Ying grinned as he appeared behind his fellow half-demon. 

"That was your fault! *hic* You never told me the Maotai Madness was *hic* double-distilled! *hic*" 

"The stronger the better, they always say in Feiyan," Ah Ying replied innocently. Gojyo tried to control the veins popping out on his forehead. 

"Ah Ying, you're such a troublemaker," sighed Shing Wei. I'd better go prepare a cure for this poor lad." She got up, opened a jar of herbs and sprinkled a handful into a tumbler of goat's milk. The mixture bubbled and frothed furiously as she stirred. Gojyo felt his stomach involuntarily cower as she handed him the tumbler. "Now then, Gojyo-_san_, drink up. It'll take the edge off your hangover." 

"I think I'd rather stick with 'hair of the dog' for a cure, thank you Shing Wei-_san_." The liquid was a strange, curd-like yellow. 

"Nothing doing!" Shing Wei exclaimed, rapping him several times on the noggin and ignoring Goku's taunts of '_Erogappazuke! Erogappazuke!_' (horny kappa pickle). "You'll pickle your poor liver that way! Goodness gracious. Now drink up. You're in no fit state to stand, let alone go to Weishan!" 

Nothing left to be done. Gojyo always had been soft on the ladies, so he sat down, mustered his courage and practically chucked the whole tumbler of liquid down his throat. 

"How do you feel now?" 

"Somewhat sick," Gojyo replied after blinking rapidly a few times, and raced to the bathroom. Several sounds of indeterminate origin were heard as even Sanzo went a little green. Three-quarters of an hour later, a dazed-looking but not at all hung-over man exited. 

"What--was--THAT?!" he spluttered. 

Shing Wei smiled innocently. "What I gave to Ah Ying once to teach him the evils of drinking," she replied. "We'll just say you found out the hard way madder and goat's milk has a--a purging effect, if you like--on alcohol. In many ways." 

It took a full fifteen minutes to revive Goku after he passed out laughing, another five minutes to revive him after Gojyo smacked him silly, and another three minutes to stop Gojyo spewing obscenities at Sanzo after being hit in the head with a harisen. Hakkai did not escape unscathed either. His thighs were sore for days afterwards, thanks to his slapping them repeatedly as he surrendered to helpless laughter. 

++++++++++ 

After that rather lively breakfast show (and several bowls of plain rice porridge for the dizzy Gojyo), Ah Ying put his limiter on, tied on the electric blue bandanna, shoved his sunglasses on and went to work. They later found out he was a 'delivery boy' for a construction company, meaning he got to lug around big blocks of timber, granite and concrete for nine hours a day, six days a week. Hong Wu tended to the garden and goat, Zhen Ji helped him, and Shing Wei led the _ikkou_ down to her basement workshop. 

"Now, let's see if we can find something to facilitate your entry to Weishan," she said as she flicked on the light switch. Its pale glow fell on a table loaded with boxes and boxes of metal, crystals, soldering irons and finished limiters. 

"_Sugge~!_" Goku exclaimed, eyes shining like miner's lamps. "This is what you do to make a living?" 

"That's right, Goku-_kun_. I make all this limiters for clients who want them. They don't come cheap, but they look inconspicuous and they last a long time. In fact, I wear one of my own." She pointed to the choker that hung round her neck and the blue jewel set in it. They hadn't taken much notice of it until now, and Hakkai said so. That was pretty much the point of the whole thing, came the reply. 

"If you've got to control your _youryoku_, at least you can do it in style," she explained. "First, you, Goku. Let me see your limiter." Goku shoved his fringe out of the way, and Shing Wei studied the headband for a long while, rapping on the metal and tracing its contours. At last, though, even she had to admit defeat. "I have never seen the likes of this before," she sighed. "The metal is harder than anything I've ever crafted. I don't think I have anything that could duplicate its restraining power." 

"I suppose not," Hakkai admitted. "The _kinko_ was something crafted in _Tenkai _(Heaven)." 

"That's a new one on me. I've never heard of that town before," Shing Wei admitted. "Well, the best we can do is cover it somehow...yes, I think that'll do!" She rummaged in the boxes of metal limiters and came up with a cloth bandanna. "Perfect! Tie this round your head, Goku-_kun_, and put these on." She handed Goku two small, round pieces of plastic. He blinked at them cluelessly. "What are these?" he asked.

"Contact lenses. Y'know, some people believe that golden eyes are the sign of a heretic. We'll have to disguise those, too."

The demon nodded and set to work. When he had finished, he ended up looking like the Karate Kid, what with the headband having a blazing _hinomaru_ or rising sun motif on it. 

"How patriotic you look, Goku," sniggered Gojyo. 

"Huh! Then, your whole HEAD makes you look even MORE patriotic!" snapped Goku. His now gold-brown eyes blazed hotly.

"Now, now, everyone, let's not fight..." Hakkai began. "We haven't even started the journey yet and OW! Why are you pulling my ear, Shing Wei-_san_?"" 

"Just checking your limiters, Hakkai-san." 

"Oh. You should have given me a prior warning, though..." 

"I work with this metal very often. The people around here call it _gara-tetsu_--glass steel. I admit it does emit a rather musical sound when struck. This will do nicely in their place." She placed a single silver ring with four smaller eye-shaped rings hanging on it in Hakkai's palm. 

"An earring? Shing Wei-_san_, it's very pretty and all but I..." 

"Better one earring than three clips," came the reply. "They'll think you have multiple piercings. And it's a clip-on." 

"Right..." 

"Er, Gojyo-_san_...I looked all last night but I couldn't find a suitable hanyou limiter. I make those to order, and I don't have any spare, although I thought I did. I'm afraid this will cause quite a bit of trouble." 

"No worries, ma'am," Gojyo drawled slowly, "pay me back later. Later tonight, maybe." 

Shing Wei blushed as Sanzo aimed his pistol at Gojyo's skull and muttered unprintable cuss words. "I'm a married woman, Gojyo-_san_! I'm afraid you'll have to use this instead." The bottle she tossed to him was deftly caught. 

"What is this? Do I have to drink it...? Huh? No! AW, MAN! No way in hell are you gonna make me--!" 

Sanzo snatched the bottle out of his hands and read the label aloud for the benefit of Hakkai and Goku. "Acme Brand Hair Dye. Non-drip crème formula. Colour: Midnight Black." 

++++++++++ 

And now, review thanks... 

**Shaoli **-- Wow! I'm glad you enjoyed the fic to such an extent. You will see many more flashbacks before this story is over. Yeah, perhaps the ice, fire, star and stone ref was a little bit obscure ^_^;; Please do work on that Goku fic u mentioned. Would love to read it!

**H. Mauvecloud **-- Yes, I will write more about the mother-stepson relationship (and at some point you will find out what his nightmare was) and although the Hongs' names will stay, I'll see about changing some of the other names I've planned. (See, I wanted to name Lang Ying 'Ah Ying' at first...and you have to admit Kou Aei doesn't quite have that charm...;))

**L.L. Artemisan** -- *takes deep breath* Goku's marker pen was shown when he draws a new, long lifeline for Hakkai in the anime ep 12 'Wandering Destiny', or manga chapter 23 'Alive'. No, Sanzo's not the last remaining one, probably *coughkamisamacoughukokucough*, but when you're not bald and you shoot demons on your way to the west, your reputation DOES precede you. Yes, that's what 'namae nante iu no' means. No, names need not necessarily be shared, right? ;) 

**whitesoul** -- I update! 

**ayie **-- I've translated some of the more obscure terms for you, ne? ^_^ 


	4. Prosperity

DISCLAIMER: Saiyuki isn't mine in any way, although I try to collect fragments of it from Kinokuniya. Getting the Requiem Visual Complete was an added bonus, as one gets to see one hanyou in the shower ala Psycho *grin*. 

Firn-chan wishes to report that she does not squeal 'Sanzo-sama', merely 'Sanzo'.

As I promised Azzie, Sanzo, here is something to make you sleep. 

**PART FOUR  
PROSPERITY  
**_Fuku_

_ "Ma! I'm home!" Jien bawled from the doorway. His mop of black hair was scruffy as usual from his day in the fields and his skin was covered with a film of sweat. He was home early today, as it was a public holiday of some sort._

_ Also, it being a public holiday, Gojyo would be home and Jien knew how his mother felt about his stepbrother--in a word, murderous. There was a vow he had to make good on, he thought as he yelled her name again._

_ "You shout so, Jien-chan_. _I can't hear Gojyo's playing," came Kouka's reply._

_ Jien's jaw dropped a full five inches when he saw his mother standing over Gojyo, sitting at the sacred piano and playing flawless scales. "Hi aniki_!_" he chirped when he saw Jien. "You're home early!"_

_ "Never you mind him!" snapped Kouka. "Concentrate on your scales!"_

_ "H...hai. Sorry kaasan_._"_

_ Jien watched silently for a while. "I guess I'll get my own lunch," he finally grinned._ _Score one for the redhead!_

++++++++++ 

Sanzo was slowly losing it as Hakuryuu rumbled along the road to Weishan. Gojyo and Goku, especially, were contributing to his irritation. 

"_'taku_. Why do I have to dye my hair black?! It ruins my image entirely! I look like a freak!" 

"Sanzo...this headband's really tight...and the contact lenses itch...and I'm hungry..." whined Goku. 

"Not to quibble, Sanzo," Hakkai said very softly, "but earrings just aren't my style either..." 

That set him off. Sanzo shot several rounds off his gun into the air to shut them up and release his stress before slumping down into his seat. 

"Bunch of retards," he snarled softly, digging his ear furiously for want of anything better to do.

"Still, Sanzo, when you think of it, Wang Ying was quite insistent about not letting us go to Weishan in the first place, wasn't he?" 

"Rather. Why the sudden statement?" 

"I don't know, really. All I know is I saw hate course through him when he heard the name of Weishan. It must have had something to do with his past, and the scar on his face. I know that hatred, and the bitterness in the voice when I heard it...it was like when Cho Gonou was thinking to himself about the Hyakugan Maou..." Hakkai shook his head and suddenly smiled. "That, and I wanted to calm you down on the journey. Your shooting disturbs my concentration." 

"Ah well, at least it's not BLONDE hair dye," muttered Gojyo.  
  
The wrath of Sanzo descended with sickening smacks of the harisen.

++++++++++ 

It wasn't long after that before the (bruised and crabby) Sanzo-_ikkou_ arrived at Weishan. Only the high stone walls of the city and a pair of huge bronze gates greeted them. 

"They're HUGE!" Goku breathed, and rapped on them tentatively. This would all have been very well if a) he was not a demonic youth who didn't know the bounds of his own strength and b) he had used his fist instead of a very hard, durable, capable-of-killing-demons-by-the-truckload Nyoibou or As-you-will Staff. 

"Who goes there?!" barked a voice from above. Sanzo looked up to see a guard who looked even crabbier than he did glaring down at them. Goku whisked his weapon behind his back and whistled sheepishly. 

"Forgive the intrusion, but we are travellers on our way to the West. We come to ask for provisions, as we've run out of them some time back..." Hakkai began. 

"Well," sneered the guard, "that's tough. Not my fault if you don't plan ahead and bring enough vittles to last your journey, is it, mister?" 

"Please, sir, we just want to come in, buy our provisions like the rest of you, and leave. We won't cause any harm," Hakkai persisted. His smile was taking on a slightly fixed quality. 

"Sorry. I have strict orders not to let anybody through these gates until the specified times." 

"Which will be?" 

"Noon." 

"Aw maaaaaan...It's getting so hot and that guard won't let us in! I'm going to melt!" whined Goku. "What are we gonna do, Sanzo?" 

Hakkai noticed the guard's expression change instantly upon hearing the name. "Wait here for a minute, you four!" he yelled and disappeared from sight. Five minutes later, the bronze gates swung open, and the guard appeared to greet them, a changed individual indeed. 

"Forgive this humble man's shortcomings, o Master Genjou Sanzo. Please, you and your companions are honoured guests in our glorious Weishan." 

Sanzo chewed irritably on the tip of a still unlit cigarette and stepped through the gates, mumbling words the gutter would have rejected. Sighing, Hakkai asked Jeep politely to transform back to his dragon state and let it perch on his shoulder. 

"The one thing Sanzo-_sama_ is good for besides shooting demons and wrapping them in sutras," a voice floated up from behind him. The monk could nearly _feel_ the speaker's grin on his back. 

"You're doomed, Gojyo," Sanzo growled, giving him the finger. 

The four were immediately taken through the streets of Weishan by the aforementioned guard. Goku was still a bit miffed at the earlier incidents, however, and blurted out "Hey mister, you didn't seem this friendly BEFORE you found out we were with a Sanzo." The man had the good grace to blush as he cleared his throat nervously and muttered something under his breath.

Just then, a young woman appeared walking down the street. She really was pretty--long brown hair, loose but neat, gentle eyes the greeny blue of a calm summer sea, gentle mannerisms, graceful, GREAT body--and in her hands she clutched a basket full of colourful flowers. When she saw the soldier, she beamed and greeted him politely.

"Good morning, Aseki-_san_!"

The soldier looked surprised, as if he wasn't used to being greeted in the street by pretty young maidens. "Uh, ah, good morning Lady You!"

"_Please_, I have a name! It's Seiko, so please call me that and drop the 'lady You', please?"

"_H-hai_. Of course. What are you doing here? You-_sama_'s been looking for you and he's not happy!"

The young maid's smile faltered a bit. "_Daijoubu deshou_," she said with a small laugh, "It'll probably be all right. It's not like picking flowers for him is such an awful task. Who are these men with you?"

"Genjou Sanzou-_houshi-sama_ and his companions on their journey to the West."

"Oh, I see. Well, go back to your post, Aseki-_san_, I'll escort them to You-_sama_, all right?"

"As you wish, Lady Y...I mean, Seiko-_san,_" Aseki replied, bowing slightly, and tromped off dutifully. She watched him go, turned to the Sanzo-_ikkou_ and bowed humbly.

"Yaku Seiko greets Genjou Sanzou-_sama_ and his companions. I hope your stay in Weishan will be a memorable one."

"Well met, Yaku Seiko," Sanzo returned the greeting formally. "We will not be staying long--we're just here to stock up on provisions and we'll be on our way."

"_Sou ka_...? I think You-_sama_ would like to meet you first, though."

"Who is You-_sama_?"

"Our mayor. He's the youngest yet and he's been holding the post for about three years now."

"Does he take good care of the town?" asked Goku.

Seiko nodded, then her smile faltered slightly. "I don't deny that Weishan has become stronger and stronger, more prosperous and more famous than ever before, but I know there are many rumours about us. I think you, too, have heard them. I admit quite a large part of the residents have a furious hate for demons, but there are some who do not. You-_sama_ also punishes those who extend help to them."

"Punishment? You-_sama _punishes a simple human kindnesses?" Gojyo remarked dryly.

"Something like that." Her cheeks tinged pink. "Please don't let one bad apple ruin the whole bunch."

"Still, you know what they say; One drop of indigo ruins a whole vat of milk. What else can you tell me about this You-_sama_ of yours? I don't feel very impressed. He seems like quite a rotter to me."

"Is THAT so?"

Gojyo turned to see a young man about Sanzo's age sweep up to them. Sweep is right, for he was dressed in a flowing coat of blue silk trimmed with gold and his stride was long and immaculately graceful. His hair was raven black, half of it swept back into a bun and secured with white cloth, the rest hanging neatly around his shoulders. Eyes a delicate silver-grey were set in a sharply contoured face with skin pale as porcelain. The ikkou would later find he had a voice that was so very soft and polite yet had the unfortunate tendency to sound eternally displeased with something.

"Tell me sir, are you not happy with the way this town is run?" he enquired politely. "And you, Seiko my love, what are you doing out here?"

Seiko paled and smiled nervously. "H-hello, _anata_."*

++++++++++

*In case you didn't know--that's what a wife calls her husband!

And now, review thanks... 

**real-circus **-- It's a thankless job, but SOMEBODY's got to make them limiters.  
**  
Kanzeon Bosatsu:** *has a sudden image: KANZEON LIMITERS INC.* Oooo... $_$  
**Jiroushin: **Ka...Kanzeon Bosatsu-_sama_...what are you thinking of?!  
**M2000: **Goddess of Mercy deliver us from Kanze-B...  
  
**H. Mauvecloud **-- There is definitely more to come with Gojyo and Kouka (also some Gojyo-Jien interaction). Relax, your pinyin comments were taken in good grace, although I did run into a bit of trouble trying to think of a nice name for Yue Chin Xi (now Yaku Seiko). ;) Please continue Turbulent Days and Cureless. *hands H-M a bottle of Clorox* For your brain. 

**Fortunata** -- Hehe, now we do ;)  
  
**ayie@hairi **-- Again, glad you like it! I had a ton of fun writing that scene at the table. It was actually much, much worse in the beginning...*cackle*

**Gojyo: **Shut up and don't you DARE tell her what havoc you wreaked on my hair!**  
M2000: ***points at reader* Ssssh, somebody's listening.**  
Gojyo: **Sheeeeeeeeeeet...*sweatdrop*  
  
**vermillian** -- Hey, thankers! I like that song immensely too.

**L.L. Artemisan** -- Yes, hello Ju-chan. Well, he IS Sha Wu Jing in Journey to the West, ne...strange but true! (By the time this is uploaded, Ju-chan/LL Artemisan will prolly have seen the results of my hair-dye escapades, so take no notice of my fanatic little kouhai's ramblings, readers.)

**Azzie -- **You're welcome! And now I update again! I also appreciate your comments -- they always make my day, everyone! :)


	5. Scar

**M2000: **Well, Saiyuki isn't mine.And neither is Harry Potter. IF IT WAS, I most **certainly** would **NOT** have killed *mmmprrghhh!*  
**Goku: **Ssssssh! Sanzo is reading 'Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix' right now! He'll be real mad if you spill who dies!  
**M2000: **SANZO **READS** HARRY POTTER?!  
**Hakkai: **A relatively new thing. I converted him accidentally, and now he's pinched my copy and I haven't even looked inside it yet...*sigh*  
**M2000: **Aw, poor Hakkai. For those of you who HAVEN'T read it yet, it's darker than any of the preceding four, brings back a lot of characters old and new, has quite a few cool surprises and oh--the Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher? She's a real 13!+|-|.  
**Sanzo: ***peers over top of HP book* Getting 'leet' now, are we?  
**M2000: **None of your beeswax. Now finish reading and give Hakkai-_sama_ his book back. =_=

**PART FIVE  
SCAR  
**_Kizuato_

_ Three months already since the piano lessons began. Gojyo now played flawlessly and Kouka was considering getting a book of sheet music, but Gojyo didn't think it was such a hot idea. "I just want to learn how to play your favourite song..."_

_Kouka frowned. __"Well, smartie, let's say I get bored of that song. Then what, hmm?"_

_"I...I don't know..."_

_"So we WILL need sheet music after all."_

_"No, we won't," the crimson-haired boy suddenly shot back. He looked up at Kouka with a spunky, fierce expression that would have melted the heart of anybody else. "I'll memorise what songs I need to play. I'll play what we _all_ like to hear being played. Simple as that, kaasan."_

_ "Strong will you got there. Like your father."_

_Gojyo's face fell. "Gomen," he muttered. "I know you don't like to talk about tousan. I know that I look sorta like him. Is that why you get angry with me so easily, kaasan?" He squeezed her hand tightly before she could even say a word in return. "Dai-jou-bu! It's OK! Maybe he left, but I won't. You'll always have me and Jien, kaasan. Promise!"_

_Kouka blinked silently. Tears were misting her vision again._

_"Don't cry? Kaasan?"_

_ "Who's crying?" she hissed, swiping fiercely at her sharp blue eyes. "And what is it NOW?"_

_"Tell me about 'tousan?"_

_For eight years Kouka had kept mum about Sha Ren. The last time Gojyo asked, he'd been pinned against the dining table, her hot, stale breath hissing against his ear in a warning never to speak of him again. Never mind he'd only been two, his leg had been broken and Gojyo knew better than to utter the 'T' word in THIS house..._

_ Kouka's hands balled into fists, then relaxed. "What do you want to know about your father?" she asked wearily._

_++++++++++_

"Tell me sir, are you not happy with the way this town is run?" he enquired politely. "And you, Seiko my love, what are you doing out here?"

Seiko paled and smiled nervously. "H-hello, _anata_. I wanted to pick you some flowers for the dining table." She held up the basket filled with a mess of reds, blues, yellows and oranges. "Don't you think they're pretty?"

"Rather, I suppose, but what's the use? Those flowers will wilt anyway and make a mess. You are so _ very_ impractical, my love." All this was said in honeyed, affectionate tones that had no other effect but to make everyone feel slightly queasy.

"_H...hai, anata..._" Seiko went rather red and her grip on the flower basket tightened. Gojyo shot the man before him the dirtiest look he could without provoking him further and opened his mouth to say just _how_ bad a rotter he thought You was now.

"Forgive the intrusion," Sanzo cut in irritably before Gojyo could begin his rant, "but we only came here to seek provisions. We'll be on our way afterwards."

The young mayor now let his gaze travel over the _ikkou_. They could not help but notice the disdain that lay within his eyes. "My, even if you are the Genjou Sanzou-_ikkou_, you must have been travelling quite a while to let yourselves go to pieces like this," he remarked smoothly. "Bandannas I can condone as bad fashion sense, but you, the gentleman in the green jacket, what IS that THING I see clipped on your ear? And what is that on your shoulder?" 

"It was a gift from a friend, You-_sama_, and this is my pet, Hakuryuu," Hakkai replied stiffly. The white dragon greeted the mayor with what Hakkai realised (with much distress) was an extremely foul swear word in Dragon.

"A friend. I see," he said with an undertone of poorly-concealed discomfort. "Well, allow me to introduce myself. My name is You Jouji, and I am the mayor of Weishan. Welcome to my glorious town, and I can only hope we are able to accommodate your needs." 

"Your hospitality is greatly appreciated," came the reply with icicles hanging off the tips of the high monk's words.

"I'm sure. Now come, let me show you four around Weishan. You will have to stay for a while, I'm afraid. There is much I have to ask of you."

As they walked through the streets, Jouji expounded on his grand city. You would have thought he was one of the founding fathers, the way he went on. As they turned a corner, however, a gruesome sight met their eyes--a mob was gathered in the middle of the street, apparently having a go at something sprawled in the mud. An old woman was trying to stop them, tears in her eyes, but the assailants kept pushing her away, even hitting at her. Gojyo and Goku only needed one look to wade into the crowd and start breaking up the mob, much to Jouji's surprise.

Unbelievably, it was an old man who was the object of assault. He was covered in bruises, mud and blood, and was coughing weakly. Someone tried to kick at his feeble body again, but he ended up hitting the business end of Gojyo's _shakujou_ or bishop's staff instead. Gojyo snickered as the man yowled and hopped around comically on one foot, grasping his throbbing toes. Goku bent down, asked the old man if he was all right and reached out a hand to help him up.

"Do not touch him!" Jouji snapped suddenly, smacking Goku's hand aside. Seiko stifled a cry of protest. "He has the Mark!"

"OK, so maybe he needs a bath, what's wrong with that?" Gojyo snapped.

"Are you deaf? Not muck, MARK. Old man, show him the Mark. Be quick about it!" he barked. The old one nodded mutely, shrinking back in fear, and drew up one baggy sleeve to reveal his upper arm. What shocked Gojyo was not so much the emaciated state of the limb but the huge, blackish scar that tainted the liver-spotted skin. Hakkai swallowed, his throat suddenly turned desert-dry.

"What IS that?!" spluttered Goku.

"The Mark of Black Blood," Jouji explained, sending ice-cold glares at the old man. "The mark of someone who doesn't know how to keep his own blood pure and mixes with the likes of demons. THIS one FED a demon who came to our doorsteps. We killed her, of course..."

"She was starving, m'lord," the old woman tried to defend her husband's actions. "And that child with her, the poor wee scrap, he wouldn't have lasted much longer without his mother..."

"Silence, old one! You know the rules; demons are not to be associated with in this town! Besides...we killed him too, didn't we? I showed mercy aplenty," Jouji said with a delicate shrug. "Now get away from here, old man. Don't ever let me catch you in my sight again." He kicked out at the elder with a shiny-booted foot, and the ancient one staggered backwards before falling over.

"Hey, that was mean!" snapped Goku, stepping forward. "Just because he fed a demon doesn't mean you can treat him like that! It's such a small thing!"

"We do not give out the Marks for 'small things'," came the cold reply as stony eyes stared down at Goku. "I've said it before, demons are not allowed in this town at all. This is a settlement for humans, not beasts!"

"NOW HOLD ON JUST A COTTON-PICKIN' MINUTE HERE!" Goku burst out angrily, unable to reach Jouji's collar and so settling for yanking at the seam of his coat instead.

"Calm down, you idiotic monkey!" roared Sanzo, stepping between the two and dealing Goku a few harisen blows. "This is no place to start quibbling about morals. What You wants to do with his town is his own business. We could not say anything even if he wished to destroy it himself." Amethyst eyes locked on the Weishan mayor. "_Sou darou_, You-_sama_?"

"Doubtless." He dusted his coat off as if there was some form of filth on it. "And please, keep your companion here in check."

"Companion? What companion? He's a servant."

"_Maa, maa_, calm down, everyone," a certain green-eyed demon-convert soothed quietly. "People are watching."

Sanzo looked around swiftly, not because he cared about what other people were thinking about him but because he wanted to see what the citizens made of this. Although he saw many stony faces raring to fly at himself, his fellow travellers and the old man fast limping off, a few faces he saw were sympathetic, and one or two had angry eyes trained on You Jouji.

"Fine. I suppose I'll have to give you all some face. Hey! What are you all standing around here watching for? Resume your business!" barked the mayor harshly. Slowly, the crowd began to dissipate and eventually, the five were left pretty much alone save for the occasional curious glare. "Now," said Jouji, a thin, dangerous smile on his face, "it's almost noon. I should be honoured if you could join my fiancée and I for lunch."

"Will there be lots of food?" Goku asked, his eyes becoming inexplicably wide and shiny.

"Naturally," Jouji said. "My, my, such innocence...it's not often that you find someone who can so easily tune in to their inner child like that."

_Ack! _Kono yarou_...I think I've just been insulted!_ Goku thought hotly as he fell into step behind the others.

Seiko looked rather worried, glancing back occasionally at the spot of the incident. Just then, a voice broke her reverie. "_Ne_, Seiko-_san_?"

"Yes?" She turned around and gave the speaker a small smile.

"If he doesn't want the flowers may I have them?" Goku whispered as quietly as he could.

_++++++++++_

They finally reached Jouji's house--although it was a tad on the large side to be called that--after what had earlier been described as a 'brisk, bracing constitutional' up the hill. 'Brisk and bracing' had turned out to be a twenty minute long hike in the glaring summer Tougenkyou sun. It was a fairly huge affair, tough, all gleaming marble and smooth brick with two jade lions guarding the entrance. There was a garden surrounding the whole house, clean and well-kept. Everything looked almost **too** well-behaved, except for the burst of colour in the form of flower bushes that Seiko had planted near the hedges--a small concession that Jouji had made rather grudgingly for his fiancée.

So it was that Sanzo and his companions found themselves in soft, comfortable chairs being served tea by some of Jouji's many servants (they weren't bad looking, either, noted Gojyo) as lunch was served. Spring rolls, dumplings, gyoza, wan-tan, fried rice, chow mein, cold soba and things even Goku had never heard of or tasted before filled the table. The youth sang out a happy '_Itadakimasu_' and promptly and enthusiastically began digging into several plates of dumplings, Hakuryuu cleaning up what he didn't eat. Sanzo sipped sparingly at his tea, pleading lack of hunger.

"Sanzo-_sama_, surely you cannot survive on cultivating your mind alone," Jouji ribbed, laughing lightly. Sanzo gave him a long, frighteningly neutral look and picked up a prawn with his chopsticks.

"_Gochisousama,_" Hakkai said, putting down his ivory chopsticks and looking up from a perfectly clean plate of black chicken. "That was a wonderful meal, You-_sama_. My compliments to the cook. I'm afraid I really should go and get the provisions we need. It wouldn't be too nice to impose on you all for too long."

Jouji nodded. "You're not imposing...much. Are you sure that you've had enough to eat, er...?"

"Hakkai. Cho Hakkai, You-_sama_."

"...Hakkai-_san_. Forgive me. I'm very bad with names, especially with those who I don't have much knowledge of."

Hakkai really had to force a smile for this one. "_Iie, daijoubu desu _(No, it's all right). I'd best be off. Goku, would you like to come?"

The answer came after Goku slurped down a whole bowl of soup and cold soba. "Yes! Yes I would!"

"All right then. Anybody need anything?"

Sanzo tossed them the sacred gold credit card. "2 cartons. You know of what."

"Of course I do," Hakkai beamed. "I'll see if they have any."

"Any what?" asked Jouji, one eyebrow raised.

"Nothing special. Herbal tea," Hakkai said hurriedly. Sanzo made no move to answer, but Gojyo saw Seiko looking his way and mimed a person lighting up. "Thank you again for the meal. Goku, let's go, shall we?"

"Okie! Wait up!"

"He seemed in a hurry to leave," Jouji remarked smoothly. "I hope I didn't offend him. Well, in any case, Sanzo-_sama_, we have a lot to discuss. Seiko, love, would you please escort Mr...what's your name?"

"Sha Gojyo."

"...Mr. Sha to the living room while I have some words with Sanzo-_sama_? NOW?" he tacked on when she hesitated, seeing Gojyo's disgruntled expression.

"As you wish, _anata_," she murmured. "Gojyo-_san_, please follow me?"

The hanyou gave her a long look before getting up and following. Once out of earshot, he asked her "Might I speak freely, lady?"

"Yes, go right ahead."

"Your husband's the biggest ass I've ever met," he spat. "What he wants to say to the _bouzu_, he can say to my face too."

"_Gomen..._"

"What're you apologisin' for? It's not your fault. I'm kinda surprised how you ended up with a guy like him, though. He treats you like a lackey, not a wife!"

"I'm not his wife...yet," she admitted softly. "Our marriage will be tomorrow at the Weishan church. Now may _I _speak freely, Gojyo-_san_?"

"Yeah, sure. Have I said something wrong?"

"No, you haven't. I do not love him. He doesn't have any affection for me, either, it's simply some convenient arrangement for him, but I don't have any choice. It's an arranged marriage."

"In this day and age?!" spluttered Gojyo.

Seiko nodded, swallowed and began her explanation.

++++++++++

And now, review thanks... 

**real-circus **-- Ooookaaaay...fwah! Tokyo! Buy me a Hakuryuu plushie? ^_^

**Kaylana **-- ...glad you like it...

**L. L. Artemisan **-- It gets worse, _kouhai_, so stock up on the insulin before reading my fics. FEEL THE POWER OF THE FLASHBACK! Woohoo!

**Firnheledien** -- Hey Firn-chan. Yay, you got the peribahasa *giggles* _Saja_(simply) only put in...Sorry, Sanzo doesn't really do much in these chaps. He only gets to weird characters out. ;)

**Shaoli** -- It was written mainly for amusement. Ying's being mysterious for a reason. ;)


	6. Passion

DISCLAIMER: Roses are red, Gojyo goes 'squee', I don't own Saiyuki, Saiyuki owns me!

**Gojyo: **I do NOT go 'SQUEE'!**  
M2000: **Ya just did. Ha ha. ^_^

**PART SIX  
PASSION  
**_Jounetsu_

_Kouka was cutting up vegetables for dinner in the kitchen when Gojyo stumbled through the door. His hair was a mess, his white cotton vest was closer to grey-brown and even more alarming, numerous round bruises riddled his body. Normally, Kouka would have let him alone, but today, something in his dejected expression made her stop and straighten up._

_ "Doushita?" she asked him. It came out more commanding than she'd liked._

_ "Nothing," he mumbled embarrassedly. "I'll just get the antiseptic and cotton balls..."_

_ Kouka put down the knife and walked towards him. "No. Remain in your seat." She went and got the antiseptic and cotton for him, then sat down beside her stepson and cleaned his wounds herself. He winced, as the antiseptic stung like crazy, but made not a sound as she rubbed the liquid across his bruises and under his shirt._

_ "Now tell me what really happened."_

_ "...I said it was nothing," he mumbled._

_ "Gojyo..." she said sternly, rubbing a cut a little harder than was necessary._

_ "...I got stoned on the way back from school. It's OK. Happens sometimes when they don't have anything better to do." He winced and gently pushed her hand away from his sore forehead. "I'll do that myself, kaasan. I'm sure you're busy. You don't need to worry about me."_

_ A short silence._

_ "Yes I do. That's what mother's do, poor child," whispered Kouka, and slowly, she drew him close to her and hugged him gently. His eyes widened in extreme surprise, but he leant against her for a while and sighed softly. She smelt of carrots and hot water and...mother._

_ This felt good. This is the stuff memories are made of._

_++++++++++_

_ Once before, Weishan was a sanctuary for demons and their filthy kind, called Minghu. It was ten years ago that a brave force of humans broke through their defences and banished them from the area forever. They then set up their own pure human settlement and renamed the town Weishan._

_ Two years after that, there had been a young seven-year-old girl who helped an injured demon boy. He was actually secretly residing in Weishan, and upon his and his family's exile, the girl was arrested by the Weishan authorities and brought to court. They found her summarily guilty and dealt the usual punishment--the affliction of the Mark of Black Blood. She would have been the youngest to receive the punishment, but the then-mayor of Weishan, a certain You Mozubane, made the decision to spare her life. Her knew the girl came from a poor family, and so he made the decision to bring her up correctly himself and take the burden off her parents' shoulders. In front of everyone who had come to witness the marking, he announced that he would also betroth the girl to his precious only son, Jouji. The girl wept for joy, and so did her parents. (Speaking of which, they died mysteriously shortly after. But let's not talk about that.)_

_ The girl blossomed into a woman under You's tender care and the boy became a man. It was time that the girl brought honour upon her family by joining their blood with one of the most prestigious clans in Weishan. It was only fair to her. She had grown to love and honour her fiancée, and would make a lovely bride, the pride of all the town..._

++++++++++

"...But to say this would mean I have lost the memories of my parents, and the kind demons who built Minghu with their own hands. They weren't at all bad, Gojyo-_san_: I'd lived in Minghu since my birth, and my youkai neighbours accepted the humans with open arms. I only wish I could say Weishan's founders did the same for them." Yaku Seiko continued bravely, though her voice shook. "I never saw my parents again after that day. The roars of the crowd drowned out my screams and theirs. Mozubane-_sama _told me the engagement was to repay the debt of saving my life. My mother and father tried to see me, but...There was such a horrible, awful look on Mozubane-_sama_'s face when he told me they had died. It was all a lie. I knew, even as a small girl, he'd had them killed. He wanted no more interference with my 're-education'..."

"If y'knew, Seiko, why didn't you tell anyone?" asked Gojyo, shocked.

"Who was there to tell? The Yous never let me out of the house until I was 13. Any friends I made were summarily scared away. If I ever went beyond his gates without permission, I was severely beaten and deprived of my meals. To survive, I complied blindly--I was too scared of what might happen if I didn't. He was quite a cruel man behind closed doors..." Seiko winced, and her hands went involuntarily to her slender shoulders, as if old bruises had reawakened.

"That bas...idiot COULD at least have tried to defend his fiancée..."

"I thought he would, once Mozubane-_sama_ died. I always thought the father influenced the son but he was really a good man inside. I was wrong; he is as cruel as his sire and keeps a tight rein on me. If I'm seen talking to anyone in the street beyond a greeting, the person is executed for disturbance. It makes for a very lonely life. I realise now he thought that now I was under his roof, he could order me round as he liked--as his fiancée, I had my obligations, even then, and could not refuse. No, Gojyo-_san_, he hasn't touched me...physically...but after we get married I don't think I could stand being with him when the love and honour I vowed to short hours ago was all a pretence..."

Gojyo was filled with a kind of angry concern. 

++++++++++

Hakkai glanced at the shopping list. Almost everything had been crossed off, except for a section Goku had added on; let's just say it was longer than the rest of the list combined. Hakkai laughed, retrieved a pencil from his pants pocket and started crossing off food items left and right before he felt too sorry for the lad. There, that shouldn't overdraw the credit card...too much.

After Hakkai paid and as they were about to leave, Goku spotted a stallish-looking thing selling piping hot buns of various shapes and sizes. "Hey, Hakkai, can I have a _nikuman_? Pleeeeeeeeeease?" he begged, tugging on Hakkai's shirt with big, googly eyes and hopping up and down like silly putty on a sugar high. Ah, what cold heart can resist the entreaties of an innocent, cute demon 500 years old responsible for a heinous crime in Tenkai? That, of course, and the fact Hakkai would get no peace until he answered.

"_Hai, hai_, I suppose the budget is large enough for that," Hakkai said pleasantly. "I think I'll join you and have one too. Think they have red bean buns?"

"They should...but...er...I thought you were full just now?"

No reply came as Hakkai stepped to the front of the line and asked for 'three _nikuman_ and a large _anpan_, please'. The man nodded, bundled up the purchases and handed them over. Hakkai paid, picked out the _anpan_ and handed the _nikuman _to Goku. The pork buns were promptly devoured and followed up with a hearty '_sankyuu_!'.

"All right, let's go find Jeep..."

"_Dame_!"

"?"

"**I **didn't say anything, Hakkai," Goku said innocently, and turned. It was the bun-stall owner. He was glaring down at a small, bespectacled boy, clutching a few tarnished coins. Hakkai turned too, arms full of paper bags and anpan clamped firmly in his mouth.

"I...I just want to buy a plain bun, mister," he pleaded softly. "I've got money to pay and everything, so why won't you sell me the bun?" He looked pointedly away from the wondrous assortment of other wares, his eyes fixed on the plain mantou lying upon the back of the shelf. It was clear that he was hungry as a hunter, but the plain bun was all his budget had room for.

"I wouldn't sell this to you if you were the last person on Earth! Go home!" He stepped forward from behind his stall counter to shoo the boy away. The boy cowered fearfully; what sickened Goku deep inside was all the passers-by were walking along with barely a glance at the scene. It was then something caught his attention.

"Eh, Hakkai--is there something on that kid's neck, or is it my imagination?" Hakkai squinted and nodded. There was a sign on the side of his neck, a black blotch that he could just make out as a stylised version of the character '_you_', as in _youkai_. The Mark of Black Blood. The Mark Of Black Blood!? On a child this young?! Without further ado, he re-wrapped the _anpan_ in its wax paper and strode towards the stall again.

"_Sumimasen desu kedo..._" (Excuse me)

"Ah, it's you! The one from just now! Want to buy some more?"

"Yes please. Five of your _nikuman_ this time. For the boy."

The man's bright and gleaming smile disappeared as quickly as it came. "Sorry, mister, I can't do that," he said, halting in the midst of his wrapping. "I'd sell all these to you, hell, I'd even give them to you free before I give anything to that boy. I'm not selling. It's against the law for me to do that, even if I wanted to."

"Fine, then sell them to me and I'll give them to this child myself."

"...!"

"Excuse my impoliteness, sir, what I do with your wares after you sell them to me is none of your business."

The man's face turned a rather blotchy shade of red. He shoved the buns at Hakkai and quoted a price. Hakkai looked at the price tags calmly, and his teacher's mind did a quick little calculation.

"Sir, I think your overcharging me just a *little* bit..."

"Maybe I am. Things are expensive nowadays, though, and I hate to see anything go to waste," the stall owner drawled slowly and dangerously. People were beginning to gather, but none too close because of the presence of the child with the Mark.

The demon in Hakkai was beginning to feel mildly unpleasant. "If so, then look inside and see whether you use that heart of yours for anything besides pumping blood through those constricted veins," he muttered softly.

"He has the Mark!" some man in the crowd cried.

"The boy is unclean," shrilled a female voice.

"Drive him away!" another voice yelled. The boy cringed and stepped back, only to bump into Hakkai's legs. He jerked up and prepared to make a dash, but Goku grabbed the back of his shirt to stop him.

"Hey, calm down, kid. No one can make you leave if you don't want to. What'cha here after?"

The boy looked at Goku, then at Hakkai, the fuming stall owner and the crowd. "I...I just wanted to get some food," he stammered.

The crowd reacted with unexpected fury "Unclean!" "..might as well starve to death..." "...mark!" "He's dangerous..." "Throw him out! Throw him out! Throw him out!" "Get those strangers, too! There ain't no room for sympathisers here!" "Call the guards!"

Conveniently, some soldiers dressed like the one that had escorted them into town appeared, grimacing foully and drawing sharp swords. They looked decidedly unfriendly. Weishan guards!

There was a frightened whimper from somewhere around Goku's hip and small hands closed in fright around the youth's cape.

++++++++++

"..._'tte iu wake de_ (thanks to that) you're stuck to this guy?"

Seiko nodded. "I don't blame you, Gojyo-_san_, if you think I'm weak or fatalistic. It's written all over your face. But if You had not saved me so many years ago, I wouldn't be here. Maybe not even in this world. He made sure I grew up healthy, at least."

"But at the expense of losing your home and friends..."

"Ee...yes."

The man sighed heavily, taking another drag off the cigarette he had lit midway through her story. "I didn't have such a hot childhood myself, but even _I'm_ feeling sorry for you about now. If your story is anything to go by, I should have to stick by Sanzo for the rest of my days, and that's *not* a pleasant idea." Small smile. "No-one you can turn to? No-one at all?"

Seiko looked as if a name would spring from her lips then, but she shoved it back into the depths of her mind. She shook her head. "_Iie._"

"...Then listen. You need anything, just ask. Come and find me. Do something, anything. This guy here will try and put things right."

"_Sonna_...how could I ever do that?"

"Like this: y'open your mouth and say 'Gojyo, I need your help on something'. And I'll help. Hell, maybe I'll rein the other three in to poke around too. Now smile, Seiko. The last thing they need tomorrow is a bride with tearstains on her face and rings round the eyes, even if they're a bunch of demon-hating bigots."

Seiko laughed despite herself. "Forgive them. They don't know what they do."

"Only because such a wonderfully pretty lady asks me to," came the reply, accompanied with a sexy grin that showed even, white teeth. What was better was it was a real smile, not one of those thin, superior You Jouji affairs.

"Tell me, Gojyo-_san_...but do you say this to every lady who's in trouble that you meet?"

"Especially if she cries," Gojyo replied with, surprisingly, not a trace of flirt.

Jouji appeared just about then, however, and he didn't think it was so innocent.

++++++++++

The crowd had stepped back to allow about fifteen guards to go about their duty. Each was armed with a weapon of some sort, be it sword, dagger, _jitte_* or gun. A pair of bright amber-brown eyes narrowed dangerously as Goku summoned his Nyoibou to his hand.

"Goku, _dame desu yo_!" Hakkai warned. "Don't! They're only humans--even if you just poked them with the Nyoibou**, they'd be scarred for life!"

"What else am I supposed to do? They're going to turn us into hamburger meat!" Despite himself, Goku's stomach responded to the words implying food and growled hungrily.

"Give me a little time. I'll try and hold them off, all right?" Hakkai said, his breath catching slightly in his throat. Concentrating hard, he flung up his arms and let out a battle cry as ki and light sprung from his fingertips into a solid barrier. The guards were seized with bewilderment, unable to make head or tail of this new development. That wasn't for too long, however.

"How long do you expect to keep that up, stranger?" snarled one of the guards, taller than and twice as wide as Cho Hakkai. "Give us the kid and maybe we'll let you live."

"What if we don't?" Goku snarled.

"Then we'll dispense with the formalities immediately, youngster," another one of the soldiers yelled. He gave his sword hand a quick shake and charged, aiming straight for Hakkai's hand. Fortunately, the barrier deflected the blow. **UN-**fortunately, the force of the blow broke up the barrier and even more unfortunately, the guard switched hands and dealt Hakkai a blow to the jaw that caught him by surprise and sent him sprawling.

"Seize him! He is to be arrested!" roared the chief guard. The others sprang eagerly forward and seized Hakkai, dragging him to his feet by the hair. The green-eyed demon's eyes flashed suddenly, and in one smooth movement, he flicked his head backwards. The top of his skull collided solidly with his assailant's nose, and as the man yowled with pain, he dropped to his knees, whirled and swept the man's feet out from under him. Goku raised the Nyoibou and swung, and with a sickeningly solid WHUMP! the man was sent crashing into his comrades. Those who weren't too badly damaged lurched towards Goku and the child, but were dealt sound cuts about the shoulders by the Nyoibou.

"Whaddya know? Hey, Hakkai!" Goku yelled. "These guys are pretty strong! The Nyoibou hasn't killed them yet!"

"Aa...I guess I was wrong just now, then," Hakkai beamed, casually kicking an advancing guard in the nuts and turning his sword's blade away with the back of his hand.

"Resistance is futile, sympathiser!" screeched the head guard, turning purple in the face. He raised his handgun and was about to shoot when there was a resounding report of a familiar Smith and Wesson somewhere on his right. The pistol flew in a beautiful arc out of his hand.

"Do you mind?" snapped a certain blonde monk. "I don't need two corpses on my hands at the moment."

++++++++++

* jitte -- also known as _jutte_, this is a type of dagger-like weapon. It isn't sharp, it's two-pronged and is a very good defensive weapon for trapping blades and fingers (ouch). I think modern Japanese police still carry them.

**In the original version, even the more minor gods were afraid of the Nyoibou for this reason. One blow would turn them into peanut butter, one tap would mark 'em for life.

And now, review thanks... 

**Rook **-- Errrr...thank 'ee. Glad you think so.

**real-circus **-- Awwww, no Haku plushie? *gloom* You're going to Taiwan next? Spiffy. Glad you liked chapter 5--ity was fun creating the most icily polite evil dude I could think of. Gojyo's got the attitude to pull off the fighting back, and besides, I need some Gojyo angst for the fic to kick off the bloodbath...*cough* Thank you so much for waiting! Oh yeah! Update 'Baby Blues' and 'In The Days of Kouryu' soon!

**L.L. Artemisan** -- Glad you liked the last installment! Seiko's no Houran but I hafta admit she's better off with him (heh) than Jouji. When you're running along for several years chasing Gyuumaou, feeding a _saru_ with a 500-year-old hole in his stomach and smoking cigarettes like they're harmless pieces of candy, you'd better worship your only danged source of cash. ;) Leetness, if you don't know about it it's safer not to ask. Oh yeah, and _warui desu kedo_ but Jackie doesn't like HP. You've already seen the pic of Sanzo and HP she drew -- it was the one where _namagusa bouzu _flushes Gojyo's head down the toilet.

**Zimus** -- Yes, poor dear _kappa_ indeed *giggle* I loved writing that drunken Gojyo arc. Glad you enjoyed it! ^_^

**Kaylana** -- ...And **I** don't trust this guy alone with ANYONE! *nii*

**Ashura Akuma -- **Glad I have another hooked reader ^_^ Don't worry about the _ikkou_, they can take care of themselves. ^_^ No, sorry, Seiko's already taken. Gojyo will get his slash in an upcoming fiction, if THAT ever gets finished. Even **_I_** can't imagine Hakkai wearing earrings -- in the original draft he had two and he looked like Kougaiji *shudder* I'm also happy you liked the flashbacks...they get harder and harder to write as time goes by because I ramble on and the chapter becomes more flashback than fic. Gojyo has VERY few sweet memories about his kaasan, unfortunately...as you will soon find out. :P

**ayie@Hairi **-- Glad you liked the fic so far. No, as outlined above it will NOT be Gojyo/OC. Yes, our kappa's quite a gentleman deep down, isn't he? ;)

**Sanzo-_ikkou_:** *snort* *giggle* *chuckle* *choke* GYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Ooooo, go ahead and pull the OTHER leg, why don't ya!


	7. Love

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Saiyuki, Kanzeon would be a bit more, um, modest. Goku would know when not to bug Sanzo. Sanzo would be a little nicer behind closed doors. There'd be a lot more Hakkai-centric scenes, and some nice Gojyo-centric scenes too. In short, Saiyuki would be much more of a fluff-fest. Sigh...  
**deru-senpai_: _***mutter* Thank goodness it's not yours... 

This fic is dedicated to Firn-chan because she so wanted to see the next chapter. ;) Also, thanks go to L.L. Artemisan for catching the horrendous spelling errors that somehow got in! 

**PART SEVEN  
LOVE  
**_Aijou_

_ "Slower, Gojyo-kun. Yes, that's the way...slowly, softly...That's the way to play the song..."_

_"Un!" Gojyo cut his speed and fingered the keys once more._

_ Mi do' ti mi mi so mi la re' ti…Mi do' ti la so do' ti la so la…_

_ Kouka nodded, closing her eyes and smiling slightly. "Yes, I believe you finally got it through your thick skull," she murmured. Gojyo was used to this sort of backhanded, curse-compliment by now, though, and grinned._

_"Arigatou, kaasan! It's all thanks to you!" Kouka shrugged irritably in reply and ran her fingers down the side of the old piano._

_"You don't really need to thank me, Gojyo. Consider this a little...apology," she finally got the word out like it had been tortured out of her. She looked deep into those crimson eyes and they looked back calmly, without the fear of just scarce months ago. It was a sight that Kouka had not imagined...and he looked so much like Ren..._

_ "What for?" he asked innocently._

_"Let's just say, half-demon, that your I have a lot more to learn about treating you right. Like a son, hmm?" She touched his cheek softly. He almost shrank back in fear, but stood still and blinked back up at her. To say he was surprised would have been an understatement._

__Naa, don't cry, little bro. Even if kaasan leaves you alone, I never, EVER will__ 

_ She'd heard Jien that day..._

++++++++++ 

About half an hour later, the _ikkou _(in Jeep) were on their way back to Feiyan. Sanzo was unable to be persuaded to stay for dinner by You, and even uber-hungry Goku had been of the same opinion. The four were unusually silent, and Gojyo was chewing an unlit cigarette in an irritable fashion. 

"_Dou omoimasu_?" Hakkai finally asked his companions after a while. 

"What do I _think_?" howled Goku, ripping off the bandanna to reveal his limiter diadem. "That guy's MEAN! I mean, I've never seen anybody get so angry over demons and humans working together! Arrgh, now I really wanna give him a piece of my mind! We did it before, this living-together-in-harmony thing, so why can't we do it now?" 

"Just be glad I managed to extricate you out of that mess," snarled Sanzo, swishing his _harisen_ through the air threateningly. "You damn near got us _all_ in trouble with your monkeyshines!" 

"_Maa, maa, _Sanzo," Hakkai smiled, "we never said we weren't thankful, although I daresay I've never heard you use such sharp language on townsfolk before." 

"They deserved the comparison to demons themselves. I thought you lot were as stupid as they come, but I take that back." 

"That was a very backhanded compliment." 

"I wouldn't want to set foot in there again in my life!" Gojyo exclaimed emphatically, abandoning the cigarette still unlit with teeth marks all over it. "That You is on too high a horse for his own good." He then proceeded to curse in a most vitriolic way for 45 seconds, describing in most unpleasant detail his ancestry, sexual orientations and mental stability. "...and you lot only walked in on the tail end of the argument." 

"When he was grabbing you by the shirt?" asked Goku. 

"_Aa. _That fool thought I was flirting with Seiko. I _know _how to keep my hands off other people's things! He lost it completely, slammed her against the wall and started railing on how women should be seen and not heard, and how she was getting too wild..." Gojyo was mad enough to spit, but if he did it in Hakuryuu, Hakkai would never forgive him. "Yeesh! Way too old-fashioned! I just tried to set things right for her! Honestly, I have to pity that lass, getting hitched to such a stick-in-the-mud, hypocritical, oily...Sanzo, why do you look so uncomfortable all of a sudden?" 

"We have to go back tomorrow." The monk's voice was even more emotionless and sounded a little hoarse. 

"GO BACK TO THAT STINKIN'...GO BACK TO WEISHAN?! WHATEVER THE FOWGIN 'ELL FOR?!" howled Gojyo in Hakkai's ear, sending Hakuryuu swerving off the road and earning him a 'stern' reprimand from Hakkai. 

"I have to give it to You," Sanzo said calmly after Hakkai manoeuvred Hakuryuu onto the road again, "he has a way of twisting his words in most unusual ways. I've been somehow coerced into wedding those two tomorrow." 

Gojyo's nausea and anger was far overridden by his amusement. "You?! WED THOSE TWO? Aieee, Kannon save us all!" he mock-screamed. 

"Don't mention that _kuso baba_'s (shitty hag) name here!" came the hissed reply. 

"Now that's what I call 'ignorance is the Buddha'," chuckled Hakkai jovially. 

Sanzo did some quick calculations on whether to let Goku and Gojyo hiccup with laughter all the way back or to break another harisen on their idiot heads. Minutes later, a black and white mess of shredded fan flew out the back of the jeep as howls of pain rose into the air. 

++++++++++ 

Somewhere up in Tenkai, a certain hermaphrodite, scantily clad god/dess of mercy sneezed several times. 

++++++++++ 

"_Yappari ne_?" Ying sighed when he heard what had happened. "I expected that." His rice and vegetables lay forgotten on the table as he listened to what Goku had to say. 

"Really?" asked Goku, now sans contact lenses and bandanna and eating for all he was worth. 

"You Jouji is a man very stuck in his ways. His hate for demons encompasses everything, which is why he implemented the Mark of Black Blood as a warning. He wants no opposition to his beliefs in his town. Eventually people forget that they once lived among youkai with no trouble at all, and they become like him. That's the sad part." 

"Yeah, but Seiko doesn't think that way, and neither do some of the townspeople!" Hakkai nodded assent at his young friend's statement, and so did Ying. The young man popped a hunk of rice into his mouth and chewed for a moment. 

"_Ee_, that she doesn't, although those who are like-minded in Weishan are far and few. Er...we both mean Yaku Seiko, don't we?" 

"Yeah," Gojyo interrupted, twirling a lock of his still midnight black hair (he would have to wash it out after tomorrow's visit back to Weishan). "You know her? You Jouji's fiancée. She deserves better," he added bluntly. "They're getting married tomorrow." 

"Tomo..." Ying's eyes widened, and he stood up abruptly. "I think I'm not hungry any more," he muttered. 

"_Oniisan_!" Zhen Ji exclaimed. "But what about your dinner?" 

"Ying, you've hardly touched your food!" Sheng Wei interrupted anxiously. 

"It's all right. I'll be back. I need to do something outside," Ying replied shortly and strode off. They heard the door open and close a few minutes later. 

"What's with him?" Goku asked, befuddled. 

"How should I know?" muttered Sanzo, cleaning up the remains of his dinner. 

"I suppose I should be off too. I left something in the jeep," Gojyo remarked casually, and cleaned up his crockery before walking out. 

"But Gojyo..." Hakkai began. 

The half-demon only paused long enough to scratch Hakuryuu beneath his draconic chin before pointing his nose west and tracking Lang Ying down. 

++++++++++ 

Yaku Seiko stood looking in the mirror forlornly. Her reflection stared back, clad in a flowing affair made entirely out of white silk and decorated with satin flowers. It looked like a cross between a kimono and a wedding gown, but its beauty hardly brought her any joy. Come noon tomorrow, Yaku Seiko would no longer exist, only a Mayoress in the background would. She shuddered to think about it. 

She tore off her wedding veil and tossed it onto the bed before pulling her hair loose of its bun. It was a good thing You was out for his (ahem) stag party or he would have taken extreme offence. She then stripped the dress from her shoulders, wincing at the purple-blue-gray patches that spread across her shoulder blades, a few 'reminders' from that afternoon about being 'overly social'. She looked up at her reflection in the mirror again and sighed sadly, blue-green eyes misting over wistfully. 

_I don't want to be with You, I just want to live my life as I was meant to live. With the one I truly love._ 

A bird sounded at the window, a common koel. 'Khoo-woo-woo-woo!' Seiko started at the noise. 

No koel called after twilight. 

She leant out the window and answered with a fair imitation of her own. "Khoo-woo-woo-woo!" Almost tearing the wedding gown from her body, she hung it up, changed into her normal garments and hurried out of the house. She slipped past the guards patrolling the city gates and looked around. Was he here? 

"Sei-_chan_." 

A young man stood some distance away, in a blind spot under a parapet. His eyes were kind and sad as they turned to her. 

Seiko's startled eyes filled with tears, and then she ran to him with a sob and flung her arms around him. 

"Oh, Lang Ying!" 

++++++++++ 

Sha Gojyo may have been over 6 feet tall and weighed 75 kilograms, but he moved lightly enough on his feet and in the shadows not to be spotted. It was when he was crouching down behind some bushes he heard muffled snatches of conversation. 

Surely, surely that was Seiko's voice he heard? But who was that man with her? He sounded so kind, and so familiar... 

Holy crap, that had to be Ah Ying! 

Seiko looked up at her love worriedly. "Why'd you come tonight, Ying?" 

The redhead tried to smile. "Aren't you happy to see me? You seem troubled." 

"I am! On both counts!" She hugged him a little tighter before breaking the embrace. "Ying...Jouji's not waiting any longer. A Sanzo arrived in our town and Jouji has persuaded him to visit again. We're going to get married tomorrow." 

"I know. I heard." 

"Then why did you come at all?!" She had to harden her heart, or he would be in further danger. "You shouldn't be here, Ying, you know that. If Jouji knows about this...about us...he won't let this go! He won't rest until you're dead!" 

"Seiko, he doesn't love you," Ying said flatly, emotionlessly. 

"I know that," she hissed softly, turning away from him to hide her tears. "But you can't. You mustn't. Ying, you have to just leave me and forget about what we have...we had." Her voice began to shake. "I don't want to see you get in any trouble because of me, all right? You _must_ forget about me. Please, Ying, I'm begging you, for your sake!" 

"Most certainly not! Do you know you are the first, _iya_, the only human who could see past these crimson eyes, this crimson hair?" he countered, grasping her gently round the shoulders. She winced, refusing to meet his eyes though he spoke softly and gently. "You treat me like I'm normal, Sei-_chan_, and I am grateful to you for that. More than grateful. I love you, Yaku Seiko. _Zutto ano hi kara._" (Ever since that day.) 

"But Ying..." Seiko began as Lang Ying quelled her protests by capturing her cherry lips in a gentle kiss. 

"Hush, speak no further. You can't blame me for trying, Seiko--if he takes your hand in marriage, then I will lose the one person who I have truly learnt to trust." Seiko closed her eyes, shuddered and buried her face in his chest, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and sobbing softly. 

"I'm scared, Ying...I'm really scared. I don't want to lose you, either." 

"Don't be. As long as I'm here, you need fear nothing. I want to make sure of that," he whispered. Slowly, he put his arms around her and embraced Seiko tight, and she drew close to him, touching her lips to his left cheek against the scar that flawed it... 

"Eeeei, lovebirds." A familiar drawl cut through the darkness. 

The breath caught in Seiko's throat and Lang Ying stopped dead. "Seiko, get back!" he yelled, and drew from within his jacket two red-tasseled _sai_. "You Jouji! Come out and fight me if you dare!" 

"Why should I? It's clear to whom her heart belongs. Funny how I always hit on the wrong girls." 

"Damn straight you do!" bellowed the _hanyou_. "She has no heart for you at all! Though you gave me this scar, I remained patient. Now I see that there must be no mercy for you or your kind! Stand and defend!" 

"Stand and defend I will, but sure as hell I'm not that stupid Jouji." 

"B--Gojyo-_han_?!" 

"Gojyo-_san_?! I thought you returned with Sanzo-_sama_ and your friends!" 

"Yes, good evening to you too," came the pleasant, dry reply. "I _thought_ that such a handsome youth would have a girlfriend. Pity about You-_sama_." Seiko hung her head sadly. 

"Please, Gojyo-_san_, don't tell You-_sama_ about this..." 

"Are you NUTS, girl? Of course I wouldn't! I told you before; I don't like to see women cry. And I definitely don't like people who _make_ them cry. So, Ah Ying? What are you going to do?" 

Ying turned a little red in the cheeks as he released his grip on Seiko's hands. "_Shiranee...da kedo..._but what I _do_ know is this: I owe Yaku Seiko my life, and I love her--I have never loved any other. I don't want to see her unhappy, and even if I had to sacrifice everything for her, I would. Gojyo-_han_, I think you know the feeling, don't you?" 

"Pro'lly not. I never had anything this important to me." Gojyo unconsciously rubbed his hand over the two scars on his left cheek. They were beginning to itch again. "There may be, however, someone who can help. Our Sanzo-_sama_'s officiating the marriage tomorrow. He may be a stinky, corrupt old _bouzu_, but he's sharper than he lets on. Tomorrow, Seiko, tell it like it is. They'll be too much in awe of our Sanzo-_sama _to do much more than stare. And if all else fails, _I _tell it like it is." He cracked his knuckles menacingly. "We'll see what we can do, no?" 

"...Gojyo-_san_..." Seiko murmured anxiously. 

"...Well? What do you think?" 

Seiko bowed deeply. "_Arigatou gozaimasu_," she murmured. 

"Don't mention it. Look, if this works out...just be happy with Ying, all right? 'S all I ask." He turned and walked off, hands dug deep in his pockets. It was a full ten minutes before Ying caught up with him. 

"_Yappari na_. I should've known you had a girlfriend," the older man drawled. "Take good care of her when we're through with this. I don't care how you do it, but take good care of her." 

"I will. Expect no less," Ying replied proudly. "I may be poor, but my heart's in the right place on this one." He paused, and then clapped a hand on Gojyo's broad shoulder. "Why did you do that just now?" 

"Do what?" 

"Stand up and help me out back there." 

"Probably 'cause I'm a hopeless romantic." 

"You sure you don't mean you're a nosey parker?" 

"Please, that sounds so harsh. I prefer to be labelled healthily inquisitive," Gojyo grinned. 

++++++++++ 

And now, review thanks... 

**real-circus**--Wa~i, sankyuu! ^_^ Glad you like the plot. Oh, and if you think they're in trouble NOW, wait until the next few chapters go up! ;) 

**Ashura Akuma** -- Well, Sanzo sort of stepped in for Hakkai-_sama_. Yes, yes, all right, she's with Lang Ying. You know that now. Had fun on your holiday? Where'd ya go?

**ayie@Hairi -- **There, There, Sanzo's there....riiiiiight at the bottom ^_^


	8. Caution

DISCLAIMER: Saiyuki isn't mine, it belongs to Minekura Kazuya. So do Sanzo, and Goku...also Hakkai...and Gojyo...and KOUMYOU... *longing sigh*

**Gojyo: ***sweatdrop* Isn't there any way you can restrain your fangirl, Hakkai?!**  
Hakkai: **But Gojyo, she's yours now too, you know...  
**Sanzo: **Goku, go steal her Requiem Visual Complete, her Gensoumaden Saiyuki fanbook and her Saiyuki manga, before she's further inspired...*disgusting visions of M.Y. and Koumyou Sanzo gushing about how CUTE Kouryuu is dancing in head*  
**Goku: **Okay.

(Warui, you could say this is one of those 'filler chapters' but it sets the stage for stuff to come. Promise! Oh, and by the way, if you want to see Gojyo fight You Jouji in the upcoming chapters, let me know, whether by e-mail or review! Sankyuu!)

**PART EIGHT  
IMASHIME  
**_Caution_

_ "Aniki, I really need your help on something. Listen, what is it that girls like as gifts?"_

_ "Ohoooooo! So, my little bro has a kanojo! You devil, you!"_

_ "Shut UP! I do NOT have a girlfriend!"_

_ "Ch', FINE, BE that way. Heh heh heh...well, I dunno. Cards...chocolates...flowers...kisses..."_

_ "...I don't have enough money for chocolates, and I don't think kaasan would appreciate cards..."_

_ "K-kaasan? What? You want to give her a gift?"_

_ "Un-n. Is that so wrong?"_

_ "No, no, but why suddenly...?"_

_ "Just cause...I mean, I want to thank her for the piano lessons. I love her...and...and...and I'd like it if she loved me too..."_

_ "...Oi, gaki (brat), don't give me that puppy-dog face. She DOES love you. She just has a funny way of showing her love, all right?"_

_ "Sou da kedo...even so, I wish she'd change,"_

_ "Aa. So do I."_

_ _Naa...even if kaasan leaves you alone, I never, EVER will.__

_"So?"_

_"So, what?"_

_"What should I give her, aniki?"_

_"Hmmm. Flowers would be good. I'll go with you on Sunday, and we'll buy some for her. How's that?"_

_"Sounds perfect..."_

_ "Good. Now go to sleep, you, and get outta my bed."_

++++++++++

The stars shone down from the heavens as the two men walked down the empty road back to Feiyan. "You've known Seiko for a long time, it seems," Gojyo remarked, breaking the silence. He casually lit a cigarette and took a long pull on it.

"Since childhood," came Ying's reply. He smiled, but it went unnoticed by his companion. "I owed her my life once, long ago. My heart was young and more open then--it didn't know about the barriers that politics and prejudice could cause." He cursed softly under his breath and sighed. "...If only I could have known about this sooner, then I could have helped her get away from him."

"_Ii jan_--seems all right to me. She has accepted her fate." The cigarette tasted a little bitter somehow.

"Gojyo-_han_, can you really say that after seeing how he treats his people today?"

Gojyo didn't answer and changed the subject very quickly. "Well. Any idea why You Jouji hates _youkai_ so?"

"He was brought up that way--hating demons and anything impure or 'abnormal' to his surroundings--but there will always be one who takes his fight further than is necessary." Ying snorted, his eyes narrowing. "Lemme tell you something, Gojyo-_han_; I saw a man branded with the Mark a long time ago when I was just a _chibi_ (little one). They use a white-hot branding iron, and I heard it's often administered with a number of lashes on the side. It's a punishment that's hard to survive, and those who do are marked for life like ruddy cattle. To survive, conform. To speak out is as good as forfeiting your freedom, your reputation and your life. I cannot accept that and never will -- no one can change the human values you were taught, only yourself. Trust none except your own."

Gojyo 'tch'ed amusedly. "Spare me, man. You're beginning to sound like a _namagusa bouzu _I know. All on his lonesome self, cutting his own past and trusting no one..."

"I trust no man, nor _youkai_. I am in between them, and therefore have nowhere to turn to." Ying sounded serious. "But yet...I sense no put-on airs, no sympathy or prejudice from you or your friends. You put on no act that I can detect. I feel like I can actually trust you all, Gojyo-_han_."

"_Yo~sh'_, well," Gojyo shrugged lazily, "that's a start."

No more was said until they reached Feiyan, but the mood was decidedly lighter.

++++++++++

When they reached home, Zhen Ji was squatting by the door frame playing with something. he beamed up at Zhen Ji happily.

"_Oniisan_, look! Aren't these pretty?" He chirped as he stood up and jumped happily around his elder brother, waving the bunch of pinkish flowers in his grasp around frantically. "I got them from..."

"Ah, ah, I don't want to hear any more. Show me tomorrow, _chibi_, 'cause you should be in bed!"

"A~h, come on, _oniisan_, lemme stay up late just this once!"

"No!" said Ying hurriedly, and frog-marched his vehemently protesting brother off to bed. Sanzo watched him nonchalantly from his seat in a battered old armchair as he read the day's papers and smoked. The ashtray was already full to the brim.

"_Sonna ni kuyashii no ka?_" grinned Gojyo, looking at the still-smoking cigarette butts. "Are you really that put off you have to go back tomorrow?"

"Are you really that eager to see what the other world looks like?" growled the monk. There was a respectful silence as Sanzo puffed on the last dregs of his Marlboro and put it out. "_Motto mo kuyashii no wa ano Ying darou ga_--it may be Ying who's more put off than I. There is something somebody's not telling me here," Sanzo said, looking up, "and I don't like being kept in the dark, Gojyo. What is between Yaku Seiko and Hong Lang Ying?"

"Nothing whatsoever." _Except maybe You Jouji._ He lit one of his own cigarettes.

"You expect me to believe there is NOTHING between them?"

"Nothing at ALL." Gojyo resisted the urge to grin.

"Quit BSing me, you cockroach bastard," snapped Sanzo, "Hong Wu told us everything after you tromped off after him. Lang Ying's bearing a torch for Yaku Seiko."

Gojyo hid his surprise well. Guess even wily _hanyou_ couldn't escape the 'all-seeing eye' of their parents. "Ah, guess the secret's out. So what you gonna do to me for lying, O Holy Sanzo-_sama_?"

"I am hardly in the mood for any jokes, Gojyo. I go tomorrow, perform my duty and we leave. Simple enough for even a _hentai_ like you to fathom."

Gojyo's expression turned serious. "Oii...you _seriously_ going to marry a nice girl like HER to a snot-nosed, shitty-assed, cold..."

"...'bastard like him', resident potty-mouth?" Sanzo flipped to the sports page. "Yes. I have my obligations, and I will say what I am meant to say, as well as what I truly _mean_ to say."

"Meaning?"

"What's the damn use of killing off Gyuumaou again if they're all going to keep bickering like spoilt children over blood issues?"

"Hooo...So, Sanzo-_sama_ does have a heart after all. Not like you, _bouzu_. Wasn't it you who said that we were no 'defenders of justice', hmmm?"

"This has nothing to do with justice, love or any other useless crap like that." Sanzo closed the paper and folded it up noisily. "Anyone who gets in our way to the West must expect to pay a high price. And since I don't want to waste my spare bullets on HIM..." The high priest got up, dropping the _Tougenkyou Herald_ neatly onto the chair. "I shall see you tomorrow. Don't sleep in or I'll make sure you have all the time to do that in hell." With that unorthodox farewell, the monk was off to bed.

"Yeah, Goodnight to you too, _namagusa bouzu!_" yelled Gojyo, but the door had already closed. He sighed and chucked the cigarette ashes into the dustbin before leaving to find Ying.

He was sitting quietly by his little brother's side, stroking the soft, fine scarlet locks gently. The young one was sleeping the untrammeled sleep of the innocent, still clutching those pretty pink blossoms. Gojyo tiptoed in and tapped Ying on the shoulder, and was acknowledged with a soft grunt.

"How old's the _gaki_, anyway?"

"Eight. He runs around like a freaking _beigoma_ (spinning top) every day, and he stilll won't go to sleep at night. Dumb _gaki_...scared of the dark. But still...I can't refuse him, can I? I want him to shut up and go to sleep, so he'll leave me alone."

"I suppose that's what _he_ used to do..."

_Jien-aniki won't you stay just for a li'l while?_

"Eh? Did you say something?"

"Ah ha, no, of course not, nothing at all..."

"...Gojyo-_han_, may I ask you a favour?"

"I suppose, yeah. What?"

"Hakkai-_san_ tells me you know how to play the piano."

_AAAARGH! **HAKKAI**!!!_ "What if I do?"

"I'd ask you to play 'A Time For Us'." Gojyo stiffened. "My father used to play the piano, and he played this song at the village bar to try and court my mother," Ying explained. "He taught me a little too. I miss the sound of the song, but unfortunately, he hasn't played since his leg became crippled..."

"How'd THAT happen?"

"...I prefer not to say, Gojyo-_han_, not now, I'm afraid. Do you know how to play?"

"Yes I do." Gojou relented and let himself be taken towards the back of the house, where a small room was unlocked. Inside lay an upright piano, clean though old. Gojyo seated himself and stared at the keyboard. It looked vaguely familiar.

"Where did you get this piano?"

"It's not originally ours, of course...can't afford such luxuries. My father used to be in the construction business, and he salvaged this from one of the houses due to be destroyed in Minghu. He told me it hadn't been sold for four years since the previous owners left it suddenly, and this is the only thing that survived the demolition. That plot of land is just a spare lot now." He patted the instrument's sleek sides lovingly. "It's just too bad that the previous owners left their piano behind. Grand ol' thing, ain't it?"

"Aa. That it is."

_Naaah. It couldn't be._

Without further ado, Gojyo touched his hands to the keyboard and began to play, letting the notes flow from his heart as they had so long ago. His head began to nod in time with the music as he progressed, fingers sweeping across the keyboard as if across a long-lost beloved's skin. One foot worked the pedal to accentuate the correct notes, and... 

_Mi do' ti la so do' ti la so..._s_crunch._

"What--...'scrunch'?" Ying blinked and Gojyo's head bowed down violently in exasperation. The player stood up and looked into the piano, wondering what was causing the sound. The strings seemed all right, but there was something stuffed inside, sticking to the hammer. Gojyo mentioned this, and reached inside to pull it out. He retrieved the offending object and stared at it blankly. 

_How'd that get in there, you familiar damned piece of wood?_ 

"Gojyo-_han_, what was it inside?" 

"Piece of cobweb must've worked itself loose," came a hastily muttered reply as Gojyo shoved his hand into his pocket. He pleaded extreme fatigue and excused himself to bed. 

A faded, crimson petal lay unnoticed on the floor, dried in the darkness of the upright piano's innards for fourteen long years. 

++++++++++

"Gojyo-_han_, **Gojyo-_han_** _**WAKE UP!**_"

"Ah Ying! Where's Zhen Ji!?" Gojyo distantly heard Sheng Wei's voice.

The half-demon started awake into a Sunday morning. Weak but still dazzling sunlight blinded him momentarily, and he blinked blearily at Ying's fuzzy form. Behind him, he could see a rather worried-looking Goku.

"Whassamatter?" he mumbled gruffly, springing up out of bed. "Where're Hakkai and Sanzo?"

"Both of them have gone to Weishan already, but that's beside the point!" Ying exclaimed. "Zhen Ji's gone missing and Goku found this lying on the table when we woke up for breakfast!" Gojyo snatched the piece of paper Ying was waving at him and read it quickly. It was written in a child's scrawl with a few spelling mistakes.

_Oniisan I've gon to get you some of the pretty pink flowers I was showing you yestreday. Nobody semes to want them althuogh they are very pretty. I will be back soon okay?_

_Zhen Ji_

"Ying, what's happened? Where's your little brother?" Hong Wu asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"_Anata..._look..." Sheng Wei whispered fearfully, retrieving from the dusty wooden floor a fragile, delicate pink blossom. Hong Wu drew his breath sharply, and Ying flinched.

"That idiot...he's gone to Weishan!" cursed Lang Ying, pacing tensely around the room. "I have to get him back here, now!"

"Ying-_san_, calm down just a little, will ya? He can't necessarily have gone to Weishan! He could just be somewhere in the village!" Goku tried to get him to calm down.

"He IS in Weishan," Ying said steadily, striding over to a small chest and drawing out two gleaming, red-tasselled sais, "because those pink blooms of demonsbane only grow in and around the walls of Weishan's citadel. Ten years ago, I tried to pick them myself, and just you look what happened."

Hong Lang Ying raised his head, looked towards Goku and Gojyo and pushed the left side of his fringe away from his face.

"Holy--" breathed Goku.

"Oh saints--" spluttered Gojyo.

"Now you see the truth that I must hide," Ying whispered hoarsely, his scar now revealed in the daylight. All of it.

++++++++++

And now, review thanks --

**ayie@Hairi -- ***looks uncomfy* Uhm, yes, in a way, sort of, uh-huh...Of course he'd interfere! _**I**_ certainly don't think Seiko n Jouji belong together! XD I'm glad you're still reading! :) And oh...Gojyo sent me this message for you.

_Dear ayie-chan,  
I can survive fine without my aniki, or anyone else, and if you continue to try and kill me I will come into your room SUPER LATE at night and [THIS PART HAS BEEN CENSORED BY FF.NET TO KEEP THE RATING PG-13]_

_Lots of love,  
Gojyo ||^_^||_

**Ashura Akuma **-- Wah, Melbourne?! Coolness. Yep, Seiko and Ying all along ^_^v. Don't worry about Goku, he's a little sensitive when it comes to all these racial issues. You's pretty misguided, after all, and you'll find in the next chapter exactly HOW misguided.

**real-circus **-- Yeah, go get 'im Gojyo! ^o^

**L.L. Artemisan **-- Thanks for catching my spelling errors!

**Lady Ravenshadow **-- Thank you, thank you and thank you for reviewing. I'm so glad you like ATFU so far! You looked really deep into the story, didn't ya? I think that deep down, _erogappa_ has a kind and gentle heart, evident in the manga and anime, and it needs more airtime. ;) If you can see him bonding with another half-breed, well, perhaps you'll like the fic I have planned after this one (more Gojyo-fluffiness). I hope you'll enjoy the rest of my work, and PLEASE do update 'Beneath The Skin' and 'Inbetween Days' soon. They're good reads. ~_^

**To all regular reviewers (3 or more reviews)**-- As a thank-you for your support I have sent you a pic-preview of the next chapter. Hope you like it, and please--no spreading my poor pic all over the Net! ^_~


	9. Past

DISCLAIMER: Saiyuki isn't mine but I own Ying's scar. Also, I do have a gigantic keloid on my right knee. It itches, stings and makes it a b---h to kneel down. I feel the scar-ness! I am one with the scar-ness! I know what a pain keloids are! Raaar!

Ahem. Onto the story. It's another 'filler' chapter, warui! It was the fastest chap I ever finished -- two days! Oh, and great news -- THE WHOLE THING IS COMPLETED! Updates should come a little faster now, with new chapters once every 1-2 weeks. Maybe 3, because I'm currently slightly occupied with an Add. Maths. folio. Anyway, just rest assured it's not going to be abandoned half-way.

**PART NINE  
PAST  
**_Kago_

_ "Douzo, go right ahead and choose._"

_"Sankyuu!" Gojyo beamed up at the florist and ran down the aisles of blooms, trying to choose the best bunch of flowers he could find for his stepmother. Jien stayed put near the counter, warning him not to knock anything over._

_"He looks very happy, Jien-san," remarked the florist._

_ "I think he is, Aseki-_san,_" came the reply. "My ofukuro's finally warming up to him."_

_"!! How so?"_

_"From what I gather, she found him playing her piano one day. She's been tutoring him ever since." He raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Not bad, eh? He alREADY knows how to charm the ladies. I bet he'll be a hit with 'em when he grows up."_

_"Yes, I believe he may be an even greater Casanova than Sha Jien," guffawed the florist. Gojyo looked up inquisitively from a pile of purple blossoms at the sudden burst of laughter, but went back to his search. "In any case," the florist said sotto voce to Jien "I hope that she takes the gift in good grace. Although she appears to be warming up to him, she's always been a little...well...I shouldn't say. She's your mother."_

_"Couple riceballs short of a bentou?"_

_"Something like that."_

_"Aniki! Hora, mite!" Gojyo squealed joyfully as he held up a bunch of bright red daisies. "Look, do you think she'll like these?"_

_"Oh yeah, I'm sure!" Jien enthused. They WERE very pretty. He reached into his pocket for his wallet and cracked it open, hoping fervently there would be enough money..._

_"Oh, put that away, Jien. Look here, Gojyo-_kun_, I'll **give** you the flowers because they're truly a special type of plant. Just remember to give them to your kaasan right away for me, all right? What do you say to that?_

_ "I say arigatou, ojisan_!_" Gojyo exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear and burying his nose in the blossoms. The florist smiled and rang up the purchase_

_ _Maybe now, you won't cry for him anymore...__

++++++++++

The only word one could use to describe it was horrific. A huge, angry dark red scar slashed down the whole left side of Ying's face, wrapping his cheek in ugly, pitted tissue. His left eye was in no better state--dull and opaque, its pupil fixed and staring and the sclera that should have been white a dull reddish hue instead, thanks to all its capillaries being smashed apart. Gojyo didn't have to ask about whether Ying could see anything out of that eye--it was pretty obvious.

"How the hell...?!" spluttered Goku.

"WHO the hell..." Gojyo began.

Ying left the queries unreplied and let his hair fall back into place and shoved the sais into his jacket. "Less talk. More run."

"Ah Ying..." Hong Wu's grip around his walking stick tightened. "Be careful."

Ying turned back and forced a smile. "_Ah ba, ah ma, _it's all right. I'll come back with Zhen Ji soon! That's for sure!"

++++++++++

_ Eight-year-old Hong Lang Ying leant against the wall of his family's house in Weishan, looking up at the blue sky and two white butterflies dancing against the azure background. It was a warm summer's morning, and the boy was sitting out in the grass, a plain blue bandanna wrapped tightly around his head. His mother and father had told him that because of his half-demon status, he was to keep the bandanna on at all times outside. It was so warm. So sunny. So pleasant. So peaceful. So perfect._

_ "...So bored," whined Lang Ying, tugging at two loose ends of his bandanna 'cap'. "I can't sit here all day! Wonder where mom is. Ah ma~!" He got up and went to find his mother, who was out round the back hanging out the laundry. She looked up from her work and smiled at her son._

_ "Yes Ah Ying, why are you calling for me?" she asked, brushing a few stray strands of raven hair from her forehead._

_ "Ah ma, may I go to the park and play? Pleeease? I'm so bored staying here!" he pleaded._

"_Well...I'd say no, normally...but it IS such a nice day. Yes, Ah Ying, you may go. But be back before lunch, and remember..._"

_ "Don't remove the headband! Yes ma! I know! Thank you so much!" he said enthusiastically and sprang away before Sheng Wei could even blink._

_ Lang Ying raced down the streets towards the park, grinning hugely. The freedom he felt was wonderful, and the streets were full of people as usual. Many of his neighbours and fellow residents were out for their Sunday constitutionals. Lang Ying had always known them as fairly friendly folk, although a little guarded in their manners. He was still unsure why his parents had warned him about guarding his conduct in front of them, as his innocent mind could not fathom just how narrow a mind could get as one approached adulthood...especially when you lived in the so-called 'demon-free' town of Weishan._

_ It was then he saw the pretty pink flowers sprouting up out of the packed, dusty earth beside a drain. He smiled, and reached down to touch their velvety petals. Nobody seemed to want them, although they were very pretty. All and sundry hurried by without so much at a glance at the blooms. Kaasan would like a gift of these, thought Ying. Quickly, he gathered a small bunch before spotting some more further up the road. Unfortunately, by this time, he had rather a large armful to handle. There had to be some way to carry them all properly..._

_ Of course! Ying drew of his bandanna-cap and used it as a sling for the flowers. That did the trick nicely. What he didn't notice was how the whole street had frozen at the sight of his scarlet locks, glowing like fire in the summer sun._

_Lang Ying felt like he was being watched and stood up hurriedly. What was going on? Why were they looking at him, spluttering and pointing and muttering like that? It was with a sudden icy fear that he then realised he had done exactly what his mother had instructed him not to._

_ A gang of older boys began to advance towards Lang Ying. The cold, bloodthirsty look in their eyes was something Lang Ying would never forget. Their leader, the grey-eyed one with his hair up in a bun, advanced menacingly towards the half-demon. Lang Ying gulped, took a step back._

_ "Well look what we have here, gentlemen," he drawled smoothly, "a half-demon, wouldn't you say?"_

_ "Yeah, uh-huh," came general assent from the gang of boys._

_ "It seems he couldn't even pick what he wanted to come out as. **Demons** are bad enough..."_

_ "Excuse m-me," Lang Ying managed to squeak out, "but I don't want any trouble. These flowers are for my mom, and I'd really like to go home." He was quite surprised when the leader stepped aside and smilingly let me pass. He gave the older boy a small boy in thanks and walked off back home, clutching the flowers to his breast. As soon as he'd passed, however, the grey-eyed boy bent to the ground as if searching intently for something._

_ "Hey, you. Taboo child."_

_ Lang Ying flinched. No-one had called him that before, but he somehow knew its meaning. The young one turned around fearfully and stammered out a "Y-yes?"_

_ The gang leader one was throwing and catching a stone of some size and weight in his hand. Up and down, up and down he tossed it. "I don't like that look in your eyes boy...or your eyes, for that matter. I'd better remedy that." Having said this, he hurled the piece of pavement brick straight at Lang Ying's head._

_ Pain exploded in the half-demon's skull. He screamed in pain as he fell to his knees, clutching his wounded eye. The tears mingled with flowing blood, incardinating his palm. __Don't look at the blood...don't look at the blood...don't look at the blood...__ he thought over and over._

_ "Get him, lads!" shouted the leader, and they all rounded on Lang Ying like a pack of dogs, kicking and punching, spitting and throwing stones and twigs at the lad. He curled up into a ball, pleading with them to stop, but it only gave them greater pleasure to hear their victim crying out in pain. Some of the grown-ups tried to break up the fight, but what made it worse was the fact most of the others were holding them back, shaking their heads benevolently and telling them not to interfere in a petty children's fight, and a few were actually EGGING ON the boys, encouraging them to continue their violence._

_ Now the leader picked Lang Ying up by the collar as he shook and sobbed, and drew his human face closer to the half-demon's. His hot, moist breath felt like hellfire on the raw wounds._

_ "Well, half-breed, we've had our fun. Those flowers you picked? You can have them too. We call them demonsbane here. Know what it means? They're hated, like your kind. So take those stupid, ugly weeds and your stupid, ugly self, and go away. Oh yes...and here's something to remember me by." He raised his fist and slammed it straight at the wound he had made with his stone. As Lang Ying screamed, he felt the crowd was adding to the insults, taunting with all the derogatory names they could lay their hands on. You Jouji dropped his victim to the ground and kicked him, eliciting another choked gasp of pain._

_ "Stop it, all of you!"_

_From out of the blue, a small-built girl rushed through the seething crowd and hit the grey-eyed boy a good thump on the shoulder. The crowd bristled uncomfortably. "Jouji-sama! You're way too mean! What's the matter with you, ganging up on a kid younger than you?"_

_ "What's the matter with me," hissed the boy coldly, steely anger seeping into his words, "is that I am not a sympathiser with demons like you are! My father shall hear about this!"_

_ "Am I supposed to give two sen?" The girl pouted, folding her arms. Jouji looked immensely disgusted, but he called to his toadies and moved away. He shot the girl no end of dirty looks, though. As the girl looked around, the crowd began to reluctantly disperse, some of them still openly cursing Lang Ying and the girl who had come to his aid. She bent down and tapped him on the shoulder. "Ne, are you all right? Did he hurt you badly?"_

_ "My eye..." Lang Ying whimpered. "I can't see outta it..."_

_ "Come on, I'll get you back home..."_

_ "No!" Lang Ying quickly mustered up all the bits of pride he could. He would not lose face in front of a girl for anything! "I can go home on my own, thank you. Err...what's your name?"_

_ "Seiko! Yaku Seiko desu! What's yours?"_

_ "Call me Lang Ying. Thank you for helping me, Seiko-chan...itai..."_

_ Lang Ying stumbled home somehow, but the shock and bleeding of the wounds did him in and he collapsed in front of his gate. With this, he alerted even more people to his existence as a half-demon and also to his parentage. The wound, aggravated by the further damage inflicted to him, never quite healed properly and left a huge scar. The eye also lost all sight after two days. Hong Wu tried to seek justice for his son, but the Weishan mayor You Mozubane defended his son's injustice and ordered the man to be beaten and branded with the Mark of Black Blood._

_ "I bestow upon you, the Mark of Black Blood," the words had rung out. "Long may it stay, and long may it burn to remind you of the consequences of having chosen the wrong path for your heart." The brand rose and fell, glowing red-hot. Hong Wu screamed. Lang Ying screamed. Everything exploded in pain._

_ Mozubane then banished Hong and his family from Weishan forever. Hong Wu dragged himself home with a leg broken in three places, and was permanently crippled as a result of his injuries. The moment he could move as normal, the three left Weishan for the nearby town of Feiyan, where they found that they were not the only ones subjected to the injustices of You Mozubane. Many of the residents also bore Marks._

_ So it was that Lang Ying lost his innocence and trust, and gained a number of wounds that would never heal, scar or no scar._

++++++++++

"...And _that _is why I refuse to let another little boy fall to Weishan's prophecy. _Ainiku_ (unfortunately), they have long memories. They remember what happened to me--they will accept no less for my brother!" panted Ying as he continued running. He glanced up--the sky was clouding over with wispy puffs of grey. It might be a summer rain coming on.

"Jouji did that to you and your _otousan_? _Hidee~!_" howled Goku. "And no one did anything to stop them?"

"Think about it, _saru_. If he could do that to a man seeking answers for what had happened to his kid, then just imagine what would happen should anyone dare to oppose his judgment? More Marks!"

"Bingo. Enough talk! We may already be too late!"

Meanwhile, somewhere in the city interior, Hong Zhen Ji was picking pink flowers around the sides of the citadel walls. He smiled gaily as he gathered the blooms into a neat little bunch...and felt as if he was being watched. As he stood up to look round, a heavy hand fell on his shoulder.

"Arrr, and what do we have here, then?" the Weishan guard grinned sinisterly.

++++++++++

Weishan Cathedral was quite a majestic affair. Not just an ordinary place of worship, it also served as assembly hall, court, execution grounds and town hall. The building was painted a pure white from floor to ceiling, its steeples reaching into the blue sky, and stained glass windows depicted scenes from the Bible, the Buddhist scriptures and even Weishan's 'history'.

Not just an ordinary place of worship, indeed.

Somewhere round the back of it, a group of ladies were fussing around Seiko's wedding attire. She looked amazingly beautiful in her gown and flower-bedecked veil, but behind it and behind her make-up, tears threatened to well over her blue-green eyes. She closed her eyes, willing them to go away, but it was no use. Tears would still flow, the marriage would still go on...and she would always remember how one year after the incident of the half-demon, he appeared again to her with a bunch of long-stemmed white daisies. The fringe that flopped over his left eye made him look even cuter than she had remembered him.

"Ying..."

"Eh? What did you say, Lady You?" asked one of the more sharp-eared attendants as she applied more makeup to Seiko's cheeks.

"_Nan demo nai_! Just er...thinking...about Yin and Yang..."

"Ah, _sou ka_..." The old crone chuckled as she adjusted her charge's train. "You're always so nice to us, Lady You, much nicer than your fiancé. Do try and impart some of your sweetness to him after this, won't you?"

Seiko swallowed, smiled, and nodded mutely.

++++++++++

In the room next to hers, Sen Aseki was helping You Jouji with his own attire. He was dressed in full military attire, blue with gold trim and Chinese cloth buttons.

"Well, today's the big day, You-_sama_! How d'you feel?"

"Wonderful," purred Jouji, adjusting the fall of his coat slightly. "At last, Seiko is mine and mine alone. She will help to carry on the You line."

"You-_sama_...if I didn't know better I'd think you had no affection for her whatsoever..."

"Why should I?" came the blunt reply as Jouji looked over his shoulder at Aseki and cocked an eyebrow. "It is her duty to marry me, and mine to marry her. What good would love do in this situation?" Aseki fell silent and said no more. "You may go now," the young mayor said with a wave of his hand. The soldier bowed slightly and exited the room, closing the door firmly behind him. Now alone, Jouji began to smile, then laugh. At last, he would have control over the one woman made for him. He had not forgotten the events of ten years ago--now he would make her pay for them daily. Yes, Jouji, chain her down, bind her wings to you, weight her until her strong will has not the strength to run away.

And just in case, comb your hair, slick it down with hair gel, refasten a button and slip the cold piece of steel into your jacket. Just in case.

++++++++++

And now, review thanks...

**Synammon** -- *facefault* Ack! The CANON characters are OOC? Damn, I need improvement. They get more and more OOC as the story moves on. XD I will do my level best to try and prevent further happenings of that. Thanks for reviewing! I update!

**ayie@hairi** -- I worked the translations into the fiction itself. If you really can't figure it out, e-mail me again and I'll be glad to go through every term in the book.  
**Gojyo: ***reads letter* Shit. I'm so SCREWED.

**real_circus -- **Whoa girl, calm down! ^_^;;; Yep, it's THAT piano, the one that started it all! 

**Ashura Akuma **-- Glad to hear it. Actually A.T.F.U. is a theme song from Romeo and Juliet. The lyrics are lovely, but if you've ever heard Henry Mancini play the piano version, you can really DIE. It's wonderful. No, not you, Ashura Akuma, misguided, but You, as in You Jouji the evil evil mayor dude! ***spoilers*** The ending may be a little sad, but I hope it will be to your enjoyment. You're welcome for the pic.


	10. Danger

DISCLAIMER: Drive, drive, drive your Jeep, gently to the West; If I ever own these four, try to look impressed...

Whoa, this chapter is super long. I think I got a little carried away...and I still had to carry stuff forward to the next chapter! *grumble grumble*

Bear in mind that things get a bit strange here...I mean, our Buddhist high priest Genjo Sanzo marrying a couple in a CHURCH?Beware also his sadistically OOC side.

**PART TEN  
DANGER  
**_Kiken_

_A small bird perched upon a tree by the the dirt road heard voices below it and cocked its head. It wasn't familiar with the tongue of the wingless ones, but it was kind of nice to hear them chatter on. There were two males there--one of them barely a fledgeling, the other already the age where any respectable wingless one should be settling down with a nest of his own. Nestmates, by the looks of them, though._

_ "...Baka ja nain da yo, aniki!" came the slightly higher pipes of the fledgeling. He was clutching to his chest an armful of scarlet blossoms that stood out against the weak sunlight like living flame._

_ "Well, any BAKA knows if you squish the flowers like that they'll be half-dead by the time we get home!" the older male grumbled. After a while, though, he spoke again. "To tell you the truth, Gojyo...I'm very happy."_

_ "Heh?"_

_ "...It's a great feeling, you know...not having to watch out for you against ofukuro all the time. I can concentrate on other things better, like getting on your nerves...!"_

_ "Oi! Argh, Jien-aniki!"_

_ ...Wingless ones could never say ANYTHING plainly..._

_ "But even so, na...I'm happy too," the fledgeling replied. "Obienakute mo ii. I don't have to be afraid of kaasan any more." He hugged the flowers a little tighter. "I don't want her to cry when she looks at me again either. I want her to smile and..." A puzzled frown crossed his features. "...Y'know aniki, I don't think I've ever heard her laugh before."_

_ "Then whad'ja waiting for then? Run on ahead and give her the flowers already!" the elder one said with a laugh and a slap to the back. The fledgeling staggered, stopped, looked back and stuck his tongue out at his nestmate. "Fine! Since you don't wanna say that you bought the flowers too!" He then broke into a run, laughing gaily._

_ "Oi! Kono baka-gaki!" (You stupid brat!) yelled the elder one, then shrugged and let the fledgeling run on ahead towards the house down the dirt road. A smile crossed his features for a brief moment. The yellow bird chirped softly to itself, feeling that there would be something good going on although it didn't know why or how._

_ It was proved very much mistaken when about five minutes on, a child's voice rent the morning air. The bird's blood turned to ice in its veins, as did the older male's. _

_ "Kaasan, onegai, I'm begging you, stop!..."_

_ Jien swore and broke into a dead run._

++++++++++

Genjou Sanzou had no idea what he was doing here in Weishan, sweating to death in his robes, chewing on a still-unlit cigarette and wearing his daft gold-crown-with-a-ridiculous-veil _kinkan_, waiting to marry two people he didn't even know. The guests strolling into the church had enough discretion to not stare at him--no, they just HAD to sneak furtive, poorly-hidden glances and whisper loudly behind their hands. His little act on the streets yesterday had doubtlessly not endeared him to the population. Studying his fingernails intently and pretending not to notice, Sanzo set his mind to work analysing the whole situation and how it all fit together.

He couldn't say he thought much of You Jouji; he was an even bigger ass than himself. To torture a demon was one thing--to torture a human who gave a demon sympathy was another. _Not fit to be human OR demon,_ the monk thought bitterly. Lang Ying seemed to have a particularly deep-seated grudge against the whole city, although he was not quite sure why. The only thing that he could see motivating Ying was his love (very quickly substituted by obsession, thought Sanzo) for Seiko. Seiko herself seemed an all right lass, but to confide in Gojyo was definitely not a sign of good taste.

Speaking of which, what was the half-demon up to this time? There was a gleam of determination in his eyes that Sanzo recognised as something he'd seen in their crimson depths just a little before the 'Kami-sama' incidents.* Very dangerous. It usually meant that Gojyo had his heart set on defending something, whether it truly needed defence or not.

If those incidents were anything to judge by, it usually ended in a lot of physical pain for all involved too.

It was then that You Jouji appeared, dressed even more nattily than usual. His expression reminded Sanzo of a cat with its paws in the cream, but the priest decided to exercise discretion for now and righted his _kinkan_.

"Is everything ready, then?" Sanzo very quickly stubbed out the freshly-lit cigarette, cursing profusely under his breath all the while.

"Naturally, Sanzo-_sama_. My fiancee will be here shortly." As if called, Seiko appeared at the door of the church. Another frisson of apprehension ran through the crowd as they realised who was walking her up the isle.

Let us just say that you need the bride's father, or a good representative, to walk the bride up -- and Hakkai was that unlucky person. He felt a little apprehensive, considering he could recognise some of the people in the crowd from yesterday's bun fiasco. Oh dear. He looked at Seiko for a minute, and his smile became a little strained.

"Ah, what a beautiful bride you make, Seiko. Come, strike up the piano," he said to the lady sitting at the instrument at the fore of the church. She nodded, placed her feet on the pedals and began to play. Slowly, the bride walked up the aisle. The crowd murmured appreciatively, all smiles.

"She's pretty, isn't she?"

"I love the dress. It looks so exquisite."

"I heard it was made from silk imported from the Golden Chersones..."

_Typical_. Sanzo's jaded ears let all the talk wash by until he heard a boy's frantic whisper of "Mommy, her cheek..."

"Hush, child. It doesn't matter."

Sanzo now noticed a little glint of anger in Cho Hakkai's eyes, not very noticeable unless you'd known the man for quite a length of time. The reason? Not even the thickest make-up could hide the purple-black bruise flowering across the left side of her face.

++++++++++

"Let me go!!!" wailed Hong Zhen Ji pitifully, kicking and struggling against the burly guard's grip. His response was a growl and a furious blow across the face.

"Be silent, you little half-breed!" snarled the man, marching steadily towards the church. "You-_sama_'s going to be VERY pleased. It's been a while since anybody was given the Mark."

Zhen Ji's eyes widened. "The Mark? Like you did to my _otousan_? No! You're all mean people! I won't let you do it to me either!" Swinging around quickly, Zhen Ji sank his teeth into the guard's arm.

Half-demons may be able to keep their human form, but their dental health was very much comparable to demons.

The guard yowled, more from surprise than pain at feeling eight sharp incisors cut into his wrist, and dropped the boy unceremoniously onto the ground. Zhen Ji ignored the burning pain in his behind, struggled frantically to his feet and made a break for it...straight towards the church.

++++++++++

"Sanzo-_sama_, why do you stare so intently at my bride's face?" You cut in smoothly.

Sanzo's face hardened slightly, thoughts falling into place with sudden clarity. Hakkai answered for the both of them.

"I suppose, You-_sama,_" he said in a clear, cool voice, "that it is a quaint Weishan custom to swat the bride on the cheek just before she gets married?"

The crowd's attention was now drawn away from the glitz and glitter of the gown to the ugly mark upon Seiko's face, and those who had seen it earlier could no longer pretend they hadn't. The front rows shifted uneasily in their seats.

You drew himself up a little straighter. "What goes on in my household, Cho-_san_, is not your concern."

"Ah yes, but of course," Sanzo said with a calm yet vicious smile he hadn't used since his capture by Lianli. "It's not our problem. And it is still not our problem should you choose to cripple her or kill her...perhaps have her stoned in public?" Sanzo added tartly as he gave Jouji a piercing glance with his unusual gentian eyes. The younger man swallowed, despite himself. "If it gives you all happiness," Sanzo addressed the crowd, "then go on as you are. Live in ignorance. Live and smile and be happy as the demons outside your walls are dying of hunger and cold. Live in fear of the small child who once gave a starving man food. Oops, sorry, gave a starving _demon_ food. That makes all the difference, doesn't it? Such a crime compassion is to you all. What a pity." The crowd mumbled uncomfortably. Some began to look a little cross.

You resisted the almighty urge to grab Sanzo by the collar. "Sanzo-_sama_, this is neither the place nor the time to discuss such matters. This is an auspicious day."

"For you, perhaps, because it ties this women to you as something of your own. A toy, if I may be so bold, just another fixture in your life." Deep down somewhere inside, Sanzo was actually enjoying his sadistic little self. "But, as you wish. You Jouji, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, to love and honour, in sickness and death, through richer and poorer, till death do you part?"

"Yes, I do," Jouji answered very quickly, sending Seiko a look that would have made a demon nauseous.

"And do you, Yaku Seiko..." Sanzo paused and looked right at her, asking with his eyes for the truth she had so long kept hidden. "Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, _to love and honour_, in sickness and death, through richer and poorer, till death do you part?"

"I..." Seiko looked up at Sanzo for a fleeting second. He looked right back, his eyes not betraying a trace of emotion. "I cannot."

"WHAT?!" roared Jouji. The crowd, too, went half-insane.

"Richer or poorer, in sickness or in health--in these I can have him and hold him. But I cannot take him as my husband, willing as he may be...because I do not love him." She looked up at the crowd. "I do not love him!" she cried out again, the words like a release.

Sanzo heard the distinctive thuds of bodies hitting the floor in dead faints.

Now Jouji really couldn't resist the urge. "You...! What have you done to my fiancée, Sanzo?!"

"He has done nothing," Hakkai cut in, in Jouji's face in an instant. "Bear in mind that we had little contact with her oer the past few days. If anyone is to blame, You Jouji," he said, raising his voice, "it is you. You and your father, who trapped her and tried to break her, to make her bend to your will and your will alone. I don't think you have even a jot of intention to follow those vows you just recited. You've been too used to ordering her around for almost all of your miserable life. You can never--force--love."

That was about the closest Hakkai let Cho Gonou come to the surface that day.

"And you--all of you sitting here--you too are to blame," Sanzo pressed on. "Are you all so bloody blind that you could not see beyond his words' thin veneer? Kept you in safety he and Mozubane have done, but he has made you fear what need not be feared, hate what need not be hated, shun what need not be shunned. This is why I travel towards the West, to make sure that this fear can be eliminated--and people like you will gain the least benefit from it, because all of you are too scared to mix with demons even before the Minus Wave occured. Heck, you may even start the cycle all over again. Look, demons are stupid, but not _that_ brainless. You only create more resentment for yourself this way."

At this point in time, two things could have happened. the crowd could have risen up in an angry mob and slaughtered Sanzo and Hakkai for such blasphemy, true as it was. They were too set in their ways for a change to be effected with one sermon. That, however, would have meant the end of the Journey West. What _did_ happen was a small, compact entity of flesh and bone flung the doors open.

"_Oniisan_! They're after me--!"

All at once, the hostility whipped round towards a certain taboo child called Hong Zhen Ji. "Demon!!!" a throaty roar rose from the crowd. Zhen Ji stiffened. Boy, had he taken a wrong turn.

The atmosphere of piety turned quickly into bloodlust. Zhen Ji saw Sanzo and Hakkai, the only familiar faces in the sea of hate, and darted towards him. He tried furiously to escape, to reach sanctuary, but a guard grabbed him by the leg and hoisted him upside down. He cried out more in fear than in pain.

"Zhen Ji!" Sanzo choked the cry of outrage down in his throat.

"Hold him up like that, Ryouhou!" Jouji laughed. "It appears there will be another Dark Mark bestowed today."

"That's enough, Jouji! He's only a child!"

"Let the child go, You!"

"SILENCE, WOMAN! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK!"

"_Oniiiisaaaaaaannn!_"

Bang! Slam! Crash!

"**Put my brother down if you don't want to get hurt.**"

The words were delivered at only a slightly louder volume than usual, but the whole crowd fell silent. They recognised two of the Sanzo's companions, and a stranger with eyes and hair as blood-red as the child they held hostage.

"Lang Ying!" Seiko cried.

"_Hong_ Lang Ying?" Jouji spluttered. A thin, icy mask crept over his features, and his cold, stone grey eyes smiled at Lang Ying. "You have guts, Hong Lang Ying," to come back after I banished you and your miserable father so long ago. You want this brat? Come and get him. Pull, Ryouhou."

Ryouhou chucked Zhen Ji up into the air like a clay pigeon. And Jouji drew his silver gun from his long, blue and gold jacket, and fired.

*

*part of a manga story arc that didn't get into the anime. Suffice it to say that _Kami-sama_ is one evil bastard and Gojyo couldn't stand his presence, so off he tromped on his little kappa self to kill him.

And now, review thanks...

**ayie** -- A LITTLE carried away? ;) If this goes on, I'd better make a small _omake_ dedicated to all the people who want to kill Jouji...hey, that's an idea. **Reviewers who don't like You Jouji, send in ideas on how you wish to see him die.** And bear in mind also, there ARE fates worse than death...  
**Gojyo: ***twitch* I feel ILL...

**real-circus** -- BINGO! ^_^ There there, I hate him too...You can give him as many punches as you want. See the above reviewer feedback.  
**Gojyo: **...**After** I'm done with him. *cracks knuckles*

**Fortunata**--sankyuu!


	11. Death

DISCLAIMER: UltraM2000 owns no part of Saiyuki. Not even the naughty bits. ;)

Beware of the OOC _erogappa_. He's scary when he loses it.

**PART ELEVEN  
DEATH  
**_Shi_

_ Gojyo couldn't have known, but Sha Ren had used to buy Kouka a bouquet of white daisies weekly during their courtship. Their scarlet counterparts quickly awakened the pain and rage presumed dead since the piano lessons began. Alizarin eyes, crimson hair and scarlet flowers had proved to be too much red, too much blood for her long-buried beasts to ignore._

_"Kaasan, look! The florist said to give these to you..." he beamed up at her._

_"Hmm, yes…such a pretty **colour of BLOOD,**" she snarled, scattering the red blooms to the winds with one furious swipe and seizing Gojyo by the hair._ _"Colour of blood! BLOOD! I wonder why I hate it? Perhaps it's because it's just like the blood that woman shed!" she raved, tears coursing down her cheeks as she pummeled him._

_"Stop, wait...Kaasan, it HURTS!" Gojyo wailed, struggling to escape the unending blows. Back. Chest. Face. Head. "Kaasan, onegai, please don't...I...**I love you**!" he shouted with every fibre of his being. She froze mid-strike as a sudden sob escaped him. _ "_I love you," he whispered brokenly._

_Blink. For one fleeting moment, Kouka truly saw the face of a crying child who could not and would not hate her, no matter what she did. Blink again. Now only the hated crimson filled her line of sight..._

_"Don't _touch_ me, you taboo child!" Kouka shrieked, tears flowing afresh. She struck and he jerked away from her, but her claws scored two deep furrows down his cheek and blood welled forth as he crashed into the wall and slid to the floor._ _She then grabbed the hatchet that lay behind the door and advanced towards Gojyo. He struggled to get up, but his legs wouldn't obey his brain. A whimper escaped his throat._

_ "Die," Kouka hissed coldly, and raised the axe as her tears continued to stream down. Hollow, broken thoughts echoed within him as Sha Gojyo thus surrendered to death, closed his eyes and awaited the blow._

__I'll die, if it makes you happy…just no more tears…please, kaasan…I love you…__

_ There was a sudden ripping sound that Gojyo expected was the axe embedding itself in his flesh. Blood sprinkled his face, and he involuntarily flinched. Could this be death? It was so painless..._

_ Kouka slowly fell to the floor with a thud, cut down the back like a split-open fish. The axe spun through space and embedded itself in the boards. Gojyo started at the dull thud, looking up. Jien was standing over the two, panting heavily and still gripping a sabre dripping with blood: Kouka's blood, the blood of Jien's birth mother...but as the young man looked up at Gojyo, what shone in those tear-filled mahogany eyes was only relief. Only love._

_"Aniki..." Gojyo whispered, and blacked out._

*

Half-demons are capable of many things.

Half-demons can roar like the thunder. Half-demons can jump like mad, soaring into the air like a mighty eagle to seize upon the target--in this case, a young brother--and shield them. Half-demons can take bullets like any other man, without a flinch. Half-demons can fall. Half-demons can bleed. Half-demons can die.

"_Oniisan_!"

"Lang Ying!" yelled Gojyo as the youth fell against the wall in a spray of bright blood. Before anyone could say anything, he was at the youth's side, propping him up. Ah Ying winced and started coughing badly, fresh gouts of liquid spurting from the wound on his left breast with every spasm. Thunder was rumbling somewhere faintly outside.

"Oi, Ah Ying, get a hold of yourself!" cursed Gojyo softly, bending over him. Chin Xi broke quickly away from Jouji and ran towards him, her dark eyes wide with shock and sorrow. The crowd close around her, blocking her way.

"Let me go!!!" she cried out.

"Poor girl..."

"Quite mad."

"What is there to love in a filthy half-demon?"

Ying stirred slowly, and he found himself looking into deep crimson ones very much like his own. "_Warii_," he whispered. "Never change, do they, Gojyo-_han_?"

"What are you talking about?" _Ch'...as if I didn't know..._

"Life shoved me onto a path...very much different from yours. You can put your trust in the comrades you travel with, but I trust no-one, for no-one can trust me. Until you came...'till you all came...no demon has ever been on my side except my old lady. No human has ever been on my side except for my father...and then Chin Xi..."

"Quit talking and save your strength. You're losing a lot of blood."

"Pretty obvious." He looked at one of his bloody hands, trying to move it and finding he could not. "Ma's gonna have a hard time getting these stains out. I wanted to be buried in this suit of clothes."

"Hey, no joking around here! You're not going to die," Gojyo said with a weak chuckle. "You're still a youngster. There are things you have to live for. One of 'em's Chin Xi. Don't forget that brat of a brother."

"That is so...No one should ever be alone, not even the likes of us. I would like to try, but everything is sort of going fuzzy before me," murmured Ying, wincing. "Gojyo-_han_... Tell Ji to be strong for _ ah ma_ and _ ah ba_. Tell Seiko I...I love her. Thank you for coming this far w' me. For everything. You were the only person I could truly call friend in this world. One kindred spirit, I guess. Don't be offended...me callin' you that." He looked up at Gojyo with the dull, scarred left eye. The half-demon was shaking his head silently, half-smiling. He matched the expression. "Silly...such a silly way to die," he coughed weakly and said no more. One last spasm of pain, and he was gone.

The sound of falling rain suddenly seemed unbearably loud.

"Ying? Ying! Ah Ying, oi, Hong Lang Ying! Wake up, you blooming idiot!" yelled Gojyo, shaking the limp body. "At least die in the arms of a woman, will ya?!" Something was seizing up his throat, making his voice hoarse and broken. Something was stinging at his eyes, blurring his vision. "You still owe me for that maotai incident, damn you! WAKE _UP_, AH YING!"

_It's happening again. I thought I'd found someone like me...and he's gone. Shit._

"So, another one leaves the gene pool," murmured a cold voice behind him. Gojyo froze. It was Jouji. He looked even more displeased than usual as he locked gaze with the half-demon. "I never expected YOU to betray the side of the humans," he continued.

The muscles under Gojyo's eyes twitched as his gorge rose abruptly. Jouji's gun was still smoking, hanging limply at the man's side. There were spots of blood on his pristine blue jacket.

"Well, mister, maybe it's because the only f***in'--" Some ladies of more delicate dispositions swooned dramatically-- "side I'm on is my own!"

"Excuse me?" snorted You derisively. "There are no shades of grey in this world nowadays, Gojyo. Black or white. Dark or light. Demon or human. If you are not on our side, Then on whose? And what's the meaning of all this?"

Wordlessly, Gojyo put a hand to his raven-dyed hair and swiped it down quickly. His palm came away splotched with black, and a crimson blaze of colour sprang from the patch he had pulled on. A babble of noise began to rise afresh from the churchgoers.

"Crimson eyes. Crimson hair. Even a dumbass like you can put two and two together, can't ya?" Gojyo was smiling dangerously, all tooth and no humour. "Y'know, for a *pureblooded human*, you sure are filthy-hearted. How about I see whether your blood really is as black as I think it is?" he deadpanned as he summoned his shakujou. He could swear the cold steel upon his palm had never felt more delicious.

"Guards! Seize him!" Jouji shrieked. If one didn't know better, one would think he was panicking.

"Let them go, You-_sama_. They've done no wrong!" thundered a voice behind him. It was Sen Aseki, trying to calm the crowd seething and yelling behind him.

"They are demons! They must die!"

"What crime have they committed against us?" Aseki pulled himself up to his full height and raised his voice. "They are innocent in this matter! If anyone has committed a crime, it is you, who have killed a young man without any provocation, and we the citizens of Weishan, who stood back and watched! You were but a boy when your father turned Minghu into Weishan and drove out the people who built the city on their shoulders! You did not see how human and demon lived together in perfect harmony until you exiled the so-called sympathisers, and now here you are, killing a youth no older than you just because he loved your woman, and she did not love you! Step down now, or you will find my soldiers in front of you, not at your back. I used to be a resident of Minghu, remember that. And I daresay this is not an improvement on it. Ever."

"A fine speech, Aseki," Jouji said calmly, even clapping a few times. "What spurred the change?"

Aseki pointed. "Sha Gojyo, right? I thought your name sounded familiar. Fifteen and more years ago, you and your brother disappeared from Minghu. They all said you were dead, but I knew better of you. That is why I stayed--I knew someday I would need a chance to apologise."

"...Do I know you, _ojisan_?" Gojyo asked dryly.

"A fine objective, Aseki, a fine one indeed...however, 'tis not good enough to convince me my actions were nothing but right." He raised his gun again and pulled the trigger, hitting Aseki in the leg. Another report rang out, and the general fell, shot in the kneecaps and screaming in agony. The soldiers were horrified at what they saw.

"What...what was that for?!" Goku gawped.

"He was in the way of my bullet," You shrugged nonchalantly.

A wild sick wrenched the youth's inner workings. "_Temee!_ What's the matter with you, fella? What's wrong with being a youkai? If humans were all like you, then it's a much better option to stay as we are!"

"...You are demons, all of you?" The Weishan mayor stiffened.

"**_I_** am a human, thank you very much," snapped Sanzo.

You was shaking violently all over. "I have dined...from the same plates...as demons...?"

"Oh, you think you're disgusted?" retched Goku, not bothering to hide his fury anymore.

"So now I suppose your assumptions have changed, eh, You?" Sanzo deadpanned, admiring the shocked horror of Jouji's expression. "I have said to my companions before--we are not defenders of justice. Our mission is merely to stop the revival of Gyuumaou, for better or worse. However, you have severely delayed us in that aspect, and I do **not**like being delayed." With one quick movement, he shot the gun out of Jouji's hand, and it went spinning across the floor.

"GUARDS!!! SEIZE THEM!!!" roared Jouji once again.

"You...will...leave them alone..." Aseki ground out.

"BE SILENT, FOOL!"

"I cannot stop my men, for You is above me. However, fellows, if you love life, if you will please remember one innocent man, half-demon or no, just died under an unprovocated attack..." He pointed towards Seiko sobbing broken-heartedly over Ying's corpse, a sight to melt any heart. "...If you will please remember that it is now more than ever one must understand what has driven the demons mad, as these four gentlemen are attempting to find out--then step aside."

The soldiers shuffled about uncomfortably, then they began, deliberately and slowly and one by one, to step backwards and away from Jouji. The mayor looked around in bewilderment. Anything short of undying loyalty from his subordinates was new to him.

"People of Weishan!" Jouji appealed to them, raising his voice. It echoed around the walls of the church. "I now appeal to you to remedy this gross miscarriage of justice! Seize the demons, and let us slay them for the good of Weishan!"

"You would slay the four people who may end the carnage once and for all?" Hakkai asked quietly.

"Would you perhaps prefer we unleash some more?" Sanzo helpfully added, locking his gun.

The people stared at him in horror. Whispers began to filter through the crowd. "He has a gun, hasn't he? I saw a gun. He's a Sanzo! He's not real, he can't be a Sanzo if he has a gun! A fake! Murderer! Demon! RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!!" The crowd literally stampeded.

"Oi! Cowards! COME BACK 'ERE!"

"Leave them, Goku! They're not who I'm after. _He_'s right over there." One quick flick of the shakujou, and the chain went flying over their heads, straight through a stained glass window. Shards of brilliant colour rained down upon the melee, and the rain swept in furiously. It spattered the immaculate floor, and leached the dye from Gojyo's hair in fat, black droplets. Now he fixed You Jouji with a murderous gaze and charged with a furious cry.

The crimson was beginning to feel like the colour of blood again.

"ORRRAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Jouji staggered, just barely dodging the blow. He was alone now, alone and unsupported and showing his weakest but truest side. Gojyo pinned him against a wall with his shakujou and slugged him in the gut. The man crumpled like a soda can, like a child, like a weak little...human. Gojyo swung the shakujou's body down, laying him a great blow across the back. Jouji again literally folded under the strike and fell to the floor. The treatment continued as the furious half-demon laid into him with fists, staff and blade alike. Jouji screamed and wailed, trying to shield himself from the onslaught, but to no avail.

Whack. Whump. Thud. Smash. Blood. Spit. Guts. Gore.

"I...have...just...about...had...enough...of...being...f---ed with!" Gojyo punctuated his words with blows upon You's frame.

"Gojyo...is kinda scary sometimes, isn't he," Goku remarked, seeing him lay into Jouji. "He's not holding back, but he's not enjoying it either. You can tell. There's no emotion in him."

"There is no more left in him, Goku. Either that, or he's afraid to let it out," Hakkai replied. He had to do something quickly. Striding over to his friend, he placed a gentle hand on the broad, blood-splattered shoulder.

"Gojyo...that's enough. Either finish him off, or leave some for us."

The words had a curious effect on the half-demon. He turned to look at Hakkai for a long, unforgiving minute, and the demon unwittingly sucked in his breath. Goku was right--Gojyo's eyes were dull, like uncut red opal, and not a flicker of emotion was in them. No anger, no hate--just a simple will to kill that Hakkai could recognise all too well. Gonou's eyes that looked at him in the mirror, after his nightmares, shared the same dull sheen.

"Gojyo..."

The _han'you_ seemed to come back to the world of the living, and looked down at the shuddering, broken body before him. His eyes lit with rage now, pure, unadulterated rage, and he raised his shakujou to bring it down upon the man, smash his head in and end his life as cruelly as he had ended Ying's...

...And in the end, he kicked him over onto his back with a grunt, flipped his weapon over so the crescent blade faced downwards, and carved a character upon his forehead.

妖

_You_, 'demon'. The character used within the Mark of Black Blood.

"I bestow upon you, the Mark of Black Blood," Gojyo intoned, as if he knew the whole drill. "Long may it stay, and long may it burn to remind you of the consequences of having chosen the wrong path for your heart." He then kicked You, making him open his eyes. They were wide and scared and Gojyo had to resist the urge to spit in them.

"Now that you know how it feels, get out of my sight, and out of this town, before I really do something drastic," he growled quietly.

You didn't move, so Sanzo turned to a soldier standing against the wall, clutching it as if willing himself to melt into it. "Oi, you. Get this guy to some medical facilities or something." The soldier nodded shakily, and hauling You Jouji to his feet, he half-supported, half-dragged the mayor away.

"How is Aseki?" Gojyo asked, straightening up.

Hakkai checked the man's pulse. "Injured badly, but he will live." He sent a glowing pulse of _ki_ into the old soldier, and he slipped into a blissfully deep sleep. "He needs a lot of rest to heal."

A soldier stepped up--the very same burly one that had insulted Hakkai during the shopping. "Let me take care of that," he said, hoisting the man up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Any special care?"

"Other than no walking for a month or so, and plenty of sleep, no, nothing special."

"I see. I thank you."

"You're welcome."

Ah well, it was a start.

Gojyo turned from the scene. Everything was over.

Half-demons are indeed capable of many things. Half-demons can feel. Half-demons can rage. Half-demons can fight like wildcats for their views, given half a chance. Half-demons can mourn. Half-demons can cry, but only in the rain, where the tears will never be seen.

*

One more chap to go. And now, review thanks:

**ayie@Hairi-- **As you can see, the ending is kind of sad. Ying is no more, thanks to baka Jouji! I don't think it's too mean, I hate the guy's guts. Thank you for your kind words--you must continue Brotherly Love! Viva Gojyo fluff!  
**Gojyo: **Now I really DO feel ill...*turns green*

**real-circus--** Believe it or not, I was SERIOUSLY considering an idea like yours in an earlier stage. However, it's kind of hard to bathe him in the blood of a thousand youkai when he gets others to do the grunt work for him. *sigh*  
**Hakkai: **Yay, real-circus-_san_! Please, go ahead and do it again!  
**M2000: O**.**o;;; **It's official. Hakkai's cruel streak has surfaced.

**Firnheledien** -- Argh...why must you reveal my real name? Sorry Sanzo's OOC. We'll talk it over in school, ne? ;)

**Ashura Akuma** -- I update. BTW...where'd u get the music? I've been looking for the Henry Mancini version for YONKS! ;P


	12. Spellbind

DISCLAIMER: Saiyuki is not mine. And now we know exactly HOW Gojyo came to disappear into the night...

Speaking of which, it took me about a month to realise something horrible--I NEVER MENTIONED WHAT GOJYO'S NIGHTMARE WAS! Silly me! This has now been rectified.

**PART TWELVE  
SPELLBIND  
**_Jubaku_

_The sun was setting by the time Gojyo awakened. Jien's face was the first that came into view as his crimson eyes struggled open, and it was Jien who wordlessly passed him a still-hot cup of green tea. Accepting it without any questions, Gojyo took small, bird-like sips; it was very strong indeed. After a while, he looked up at Jien again. The older youth was watching him intently, with a look hard to describe with mere words. "I guess we're both in trouble with kaasan, aren't we, aniki?" he said with a small, nervous smile._

_"Only partly right." Jien's voice was like sand rustled by the wind. "Kaasan is...no more. She will hurt you no longer," he continued, not looking at his stepbrother._ __Soon Jien will be no more and will hurt you no longer too__

_"Aniki? She...what are you saying?!" He almost flung himself at Jien, the way he lurched forwards. "Uso darou?"_

_"No lie, Gojyo. I buried her out in the garden under the big tree." He got up from the bed and began shoving things together into a bundle, much to Gojyo's confusion. He kept his voice flat, emotionless. "This is what you will tell anyone you should meet. A wild boar broke into the house and savaged both me and ofukuro. You buried us in the garden."_ __Keep telling 'em that and maybe you'll forget yourself__

_"Aniki?"_

_"I have to go, Gojyo..."_

_ "Go?! But where?!"_

_"I don't know, but I can't stay here." He sat down on the bed again, next to Gojyo, and ruffled his hair gently. "Ofukuro's death can't be kept quiet for long. They will hunt both of us down to be punished, and I'm not letting that happen. _Both_ of us have to leave, and the sooner the better." He sat down on the bed and tied his bundle together on an old broomstick._

_"No!" All the fear, all the pain reawakened and he clung tightly to Jien's shoulder, sobs racking him. "Why can't I go with you, aniki?! Onegai! Don't leave me alone here! Please, please don't leave me alone!"_

_Jien took the boy in his strong, lean arms and ran his fingers through the crimson locks soothingly. "Ssh. Don't cry. I can't do that--it would put you in a lot of danger. Should we be seen together, our alibis will fall apart. I will head towards the west. You must go east. Run, Gojyo. Run, little bro, and don't look back. Don't ever come back to Minghu, not until this is forgotten and you are strong enough to fight on your own, you get me?" He gave the thin shoulders a sharp shake._

_ "How do I become strong...?"_

_"Somehow. I don't know how. Try. There is one thing I can give you to protect you until then, though." He stood up and rummaged in his pocket before producing a blue bandanna from it, which he tied around the boy's forehead. It was printed with a single _kanji_: 'Ki'. Joy. "This is an omamori (talisman) that father gave me once, before you were born. Take good care of it, all right? Here, lemme tie it on for you...there! Don't you look cute!"_

_"I don't wanna be cute!" snapped Gojyo petulantly, the old spirit springing back._

_"You'd be surprised," Jien remarked dryly before his voice became soft and gentle. "Goodbye, Sha Gojyo," he said softly, tilting the boy's chin up and touching the plaster on his left cheek, "and remember that there is someone who will always, ALWAYS love you. We will surely meet again someday."_

_With those words, Jien was out the door, leaving Gojyo staring at the shadow of his back, outlined by a setting sun._

_*_

**-Cho Hakkai-**

He picked Lang Ying's body up off the floor and walked out without a word, in the rain, five kilometres back to Feiyan. Gojyo was dripping wet when he finally arrived back. He refused all other attention, just got out of his wet clothes and changed silently.

They buried him in a simple ceremony that night itself. Sanzo read a sutra: not the same one he had recited at the cleanly burnt-out spot where there should have been a Hundred-Eyed Demon's castle, but powerful in its message all the same. Sheng Wei couldn't stop crying. Hong Wu, too. Zhen Ji bore it all wordlessly, although the tears flowed down his face like they would never stop.

Rest in peace, Lang Ying. Ah, he was a good youth, an innocent one whose greatest sin was existence. I couldn't help but feel angry at the society he was born into, one that put the fear of a legend unproven over the decency to give just a little compassion, and somehow, there was a spark of dark, forbidden satisfaction at seeing what we dealt them. It is a part of Cho Gonou that he thought long gone. It's very worrying.

Still, perhaps the soldiers that remained might be able to bring some order back to the town. Aseki was a resident of Minghu; perhaps he could bring it back to what it used to be. His soldiers would help him, at least most of them would for sure. The residents would probably not forget today. I can only hope they see it as a reason to change, not an excuse to continue their prejudice. It would be a shame if they did.

Midnight came and midnight went, and I began to worry for Gojyo too. He still hadn't spoken, not even to me. I hoped he wasn't about to do anything rash.

++++++++++

**-Sha Gojyo-**

I had another nightmare that night. No, scratch that--I had the same one.

I heard, once again, the soft and haunting music as I walked through the old yet familiar hallways of my Minghu home. The same door lay open to me, and I pushed it open to find the source of the music. The same young child sat at the piano--our piano, _my_ piano--playing the song over and over--he was crimson-haired like myself.

"Oi, kid, what are you doing here?" I asked him. He turned. Blood was running down his face and mixing with his tears.

"_Oniichan_, I live here," he hissed softly, as if in pain.

It was then I realises I was looking at my younger self, the Gojyo with the broken eyes and the bruised, scarred features. I found myself unable to move as my child-self approached.

"_Oniichan_, you are a murderer!" he continued in that same controlled tone. "Because of you, _okaasan_ died! Jien-_oniichan_ is gone, and I'm all alone! I have no one! I HAVE NOTHING!" His voice was trembling as he screamed out the last words. I felt myself breaking apart as his gaze locked with mine.

"You should have died, _oniisan_. You should have died...**I** should have died! Why didn't I die?!" he yelled out with pure hatred enough for the two of us.

It is always when he is about to throttle me, just about the time I'm going to _let_ him, I awaken. This time, there is no denying that a hoarse cry escaped my throat and shattered the silence. Thankfully, we were roomed separately tonight. My cries went unheard.

As they always do.

I just saw a tragic crime committed against one of my kind today and could do nothing to stop it._ My kind. Hanyou_. Half-demon. The words felt sharp, bittersweet, almost poetic on my tongue as I tried them out, staring up at the ceiling. I had never felt this raw, this much cut open as the day _kaasan_ died. I knew I should rein it in, I knew I should pull myself together, but I couldn't. And don't think I didn't try.

Lord Buddha knows why the hell I got so cut up over a single death when I've killed demons in the scores of scores, when so many have died in front of me before.

It was then I felt the heavy sting of tears at the corner of my eyes. Damn! Now I'm crying! They wouldn't stop coming, damn things, even though I was practically chewing off my lip trying to hold them back. The taste of blood filled my mouth, a sickening sensation. It got me calmed down somewhat, though, and I buried my head in the thin pillow. F--- everything. I was beyond caring, caring for Hakkai, the _saru_ or the _bouzu_, caring for the mission we still had to accomplish.

_Now I can finally see why all this is happening...and why it has to be us..._

Not any more I don't.

I needed out, right there and then. I didn't know where I would go, or for how long, but I could never stay there. Not after that day. I grabbed my shirt off the back of a chair and set out into the night. It felt like the Kami-_sama_ incidents all over again...only this time, I didn't think I could count on the others to track me down. This was a question of personal values.

I started off quickly, the rain drenching me once more. I had a five kilometre walk in the puddles ahead of me.

++++++++++

**-Genjo Sanzo-**

The sun was just beginning to rise on another day. Wisps of cloud streaked the golden sky with creamy white. Birds were singing outside my window, bringing promise of another clear summer day. Disgustingly perfect. Hard to believe that yesterday, a bloodbath had risen in Weishan.

I got out of bed and refastened my robe slowly, thinking of all the happenings of yesterday. The fool. Those who are dead can no longer return. Why must he behave this way? The only way we're going to survive this is to develop no attachment, and this is not the first time he has made this mistake.

_Oshishou-sama_

I think I'm hearing things. Better clean my ears out some time.

Hong Wu and Sheng Wei insisted we stay the night, and they asked if I would recite the scriptures for the burial. I agreed, to keep things quiet, and ended up chanting Sanskrit until midnight. Although I was still struggling to keep my eyelids open, I intended on leaving as soon as possible. Must call the other three to be on their way.

It was then Hakkai flung open my door, looking ever-so-slightly ruffled. His voice betrayed a thin edge of concern.

"Sorry to bother you so early in the morning, Sanzo, but...Gojyo's gone."

...Admittedly, I'd expected that.

++++++++++

**-Son Goku-**

Sanzo got me out of bed at seven in the morning and barked at me to put on my clothes. He seemed sort of distracted. Why, we didn't even have breakfast, the meanie! I started asking Sanzo for food, but he did the most amazing thing. Without even a swish of the harisen or a click of the _shoureijuu_, he just raised one hand and asked that I keep quiet just this once. Gojyo had gone missing.

Whoa. So he DOES care after all, our Sanzo.

Hakkai piled us all into the jeep and we drove to Weishan. Hakkai wouldn't tell me how he knew Gojyo would be there. He just did. They stopped Hakuryuu outside the gates and Sanzo turned to me.

..."_Saru_, go call Gojyo. Tell him we're leaving right now."

"_Demo, Sanzo_..." (But Sanzo...)

"_Ii kara sassa to yonde ike!_" (Go and call him right now, because I say so!) came the yelled reply.

Eesh! How can he be so heartless? That was COLD, Sanzo. I jumped out of Hakuryuu anyway after making Hakkai _promise_ not to leave without me. I looked _everywhere _for the stupid _erogappa_ but I didn't find a trace of him. The streets were empty, but I knew there were people inside the houses.

No guts whatsoever. They're all so scared I'd go berserkers on them. Are we really so fierce, demons? Hakkai is so pleasant, and even Gojyo can have the touch of a butterfly while he's bandaging wounds. Yeah, even _erogappa_... 

_"You freakin' idiot, what are you doing out here? Where's that music coming from?!"_

Nuts! Could he be there?

I was running so fast and looking so hard I didn't see Seiko in front of me, and I crashed straight into her. She was out of that dumb, frilly wedding dress and had changed into a plain coarse cotton slip. Sanzo told me later that day that it was a sign of mourning.

"Goku-_kun_!"

"Seiko-_neesan_! Have you seen Gojyo?"

"Go...jyo?" She shook her head. "_Iie_. I haven't seen him."

"Oh no...I'd better keep looking. _Sankyu!_"

"Goku-_kun_!"

"Aa?"

"If you find him...when you find him...tell him that I send him my thanks." A dry breeze disturbed her fringe. "At least now, I am free."

Seiko, you're nice. I'll smile for you. "I'll do that! You take care!"

I had to follow my hunch on this one. Off I ran to the church and threw the doors open. I yelled out Gojyo's name twice, even three times before I realised that he _was_ there, but wasn't answering me. It was as if sitting at the piano and playing made you deaf.

"Gojyo...?"

His head was bowed over the piano like the time he was looking into Ying's eyes before he died. His hands were moving slowly across the keyboard, playing that same sad piece I had heard and loved on Hakuryuu's radio once before. Gojyo, in a fit of unusual kindness, had taught me the lyrics. Of course, this was with a sneaky, back-handed comment that it might be of no use because my monkey-brain (argh!) was like a sieve and everything he said would leak right out. I surprised him then! I got it all down pat in an hour!

But...

Gee...it never sounded this sad before in my mind. It never felt so...meaningful. The song, I swear, was written for people like us.

_A time for us some day there'll be  
When chains are torn by courage born of a love that's free  
A time when dreams so long denied can flourish  
as we unveil the love we now must hide  
  
A time for us at last to see  
A life worthwhile for you and me  
  
And with our love through tears and thorns  
We will endure as we pass surely through every storm  
A time for us someday there'll be a new world  
A world of shining hope for you and me_

"Gojyo?" I repeated his name again, striding up to him. He still didn't stop playing, not until he had reached the end of the piece. And then, that stupid fella began playing all over again!

Eeeerrrrggh! Can't...stand it...must...whack...the...erogappa!

++++++++++ 

**-Sha Gojyo-**

Again, the piano was spotted by chance, a fleeting glimpse squirreled away into the back of my mind as I pummeled You Jouji to a pulp. And so, I came back to it, in a hope to calm myself. I have no idea what made me start playing the song over again that morning. I could HEAR the saru yelling my name, but my fingers didn't want to stop. They gave me a sense of comfort, that the hands that kill can be the hands that create, that this song was a requiem to the young man who lost his life here for love much like I almost did not too far away from here, not too far back in time. I was falling apart, and only the song was holding my sanity together.

They say that 'A time for us someday there'll be'...but yet, times never change. My hair is still red. I am still a half-demon. We are still shunned.

I am still alive, though Ying is not. And it's not bloody fair.

I think the saru gave a strangled scream just about then, though I'm not too sure now. It's a bit funny, the way the brain tends to either shut out the most painful of experiences or keep on replaying them for your viewing (dis)pleasure.

"O-I! SA-GO-JO-U-'-TE-BA-!!!" the monkey hollered in my ear, enunciating every syllable clearly, rattling me back and forth like a damn rag doll. I stopped, but I didn't look up.

"_Naiteru no_?!" I heard him add softly. I was appalled to see, albeit blurrily, a perfect drop of liquid resting like a pearl on an ebony key. I shook my head fiercely and smacked his hand away, feeling suddenly angry.

"What happened to the rest of them?" I asked.

"Them?"

"Weishan villagers."

"Half have fled. They think it's not safe here. Half have stayed behind to rebuild the place."

"Yaku Seiko?"

"Doing fine."

"Hong Lang Ying?"

Goku blinked twice. "Gojyo, we took his body back to Feiyan last evening, remember?"

"Ah yes." I took my hands off the keyboard and let them fall to my sides.

"Look, Gojyo, I don't know what's still getting you down, but..." Goku's voice was soft and coaxing. "You aren't alone."

Not alone, am I? Voices suddenly came crowding into my head, jostling for position.

_ "...Just like the blood that woman shed!"_

_ "Run, Gojyo. Run, little bro, and don't look back."_

_ "If I look at it closely, your hair is such a lovely wine-red..."_

_ "Your crimson hair and eyes are like a prohibition to me."_

_ "We did it before, this living-together-in-harmony thing, so why can't we do it now?"_

_ "Do you know you are the first, iya, the only human who could see past these crimson eyes, this crimson hair? You treat me like I'm normal..."_

_ "They don't change, do they, Gojyo-han?"_

No they don't, Ying. They certainly don't.

++++++++++

**-Son Goku-**

"I...am...not...alone, you say?" Gojyo's voice had suddenly acquired a sharpness to it that I didn't like. It was like a fiercer part, the demonic part of Gojyo had been fully unlocked. He practically jumped up off the piano stool, sending it tipping over with a dull thud, and grabbed me round the shoulders so hard it hurt. I hissed in pain. He didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, sure, I'm not alone," Gojyo shouted, voice rising in volume and fury, "and my _kaasan_'s still alive and Dokugaku's on our side and Lang Ying is gonna come walking through that damn church door in a suit with Seiko at his side to get married! Hot damn, Goku, we are ALL alone in this f---ing unfair old world! You, me, Hakkai, _bouzu_, everybody!" He slammed his fist down on the keyboard, making a clash and clatter of notes.

"Gojyo!"

"Get out of here, saru, before I break every bone in your body. Just leave." he snarled, breathing rapid and angry. He sounded like he _meant_ it this time. But hey, I'm Son Goku, and being as stubborn as I am, I had to find a way to get him out of the funk...

"_Iya da_. Teach me how to play the piano."

"I said GET OUT...what?!"

(Where'd THAT come from?! Well, here goes.)

"Teach me. How. To. Play. The. Piano. Y'see...I sorta figured...that if you teach me how, I can play with you and you won't be alone again...ah heck! Just teach me, all right?" I shouted, the words tumbling over one another. "Didn't Ying say 'no one should ever be alone, not even the likes of us'?!" 

(Now how'd that get out of my mouth?)

Gojyo blinked, looking like his jaw would hit the floor any minute. Finally he heaved a deep sigh, rummaged around in his pocket and brought out a carton of Hi-Lites. He took his time lighting it and blew a single smoke ring into the air.

"Well? Let's go. But you walk in front."

"Why?"

"Cause that bullet from Sanzo is going through YOU first."

"OIII!!!"

He shoved down on my head, chuckling bitterly. "I'll teach you some other time, _saru_, if your monkey brain doesn't forget it!"

"It will NOT! I'm going to pester you and pester you and pester you and pester you and pester you and pester you and pester you and pester you until you do! So there!"

I think as we ran off I saw Ah Ying sitting there, near the podium-thingie, legs crossed and looking curiously at us. His fringe was short and the evil, ugly scar was gone. As we raced out through the door (towards almost certain death from Sanzo), he flipped us a salute and grinned.

_Yoroshikatta._

Pleased to have met you.

I think Gojyo saw him too, because he flipped a salute _back_.

This will be great blackmail fodder in the years to come!

++++++++++

**-Cho Hakkai-**

Let's keep my side of the story short and say I pointed Hakuryuu westwards after Sanzo spent about a case of bullets trying to shoot holes in both Gojyo and Goku, shall we?

Somehow, I think Gojyo will be all right with time. He was already sitting in the back, lecturing Goku importantly on the notes of a musical scale.

++++++++++

_Itsuka wa sono toki  
ga kuru yo kusari ga ai de saitara  
Kotowarareta yume ga saku yo  
Kakushita ai o misete_

_sono toki ga miseta  
Kuraseru toki no da_

_Namida to toge ni mo  
Arashi mo nukereru kono ai de  
Itsuka wa sono toki ga kuru yo  
Kagayaku kibou ga kuru yo_

_And with our love through tears and thorns  
We will endure as we pass surely through every storm  
A time for us someday there'll be a new world  
A world of shining hope for you and me_

_A world of shining hope for you and me..._

++++++++++

And for the last time, review thanks for A.T.F.U.:

**ayie@hairi** -- Serves You right, indeed. Don't worry, Ying didn't die in vain--through him, they saw just how twisted our dear You Jouji was. Seiko will always have her nice memories of him, too, so don't cry...you know Gojyo doesn't like to see women cry...

**real-circus** -- I don't think Sanzo would've wanted to contaminate his hands with the blood. Besides, I wanted to give Gojyo a full go at that (censored).

**Ashura Akuma** -- I thought it would only be fitting to scar Jouji for life. Or what's left of it! Nyahahahaha!!!  
**You: **I am so not LOVED...*wail*  
**Gojyo: **Awww, there there...we don't HATE you, Jouji! :(  
**You: **Really? *sniffle*  
**Sanzo: **Really. We LOATHE you. *second round of bashing for real-circus-_san_*  
**r-c: **YESSS!!! GO SANZO!

That concludes A Time For Us. Thank you for reading! You may now leave, or proceed to the epilogue or the Background Info Section.


	13. Epilogue: Memories

DISCLAIMER: Roses are red, epilogues short, Saiyuki ain't mine so don't you retort.

**EPILOGUE  
MEMORIES  
**_Omoide_

My name is Gojyo, Sha Gojyo. I am eight years old, and am traveling on my own for the first time. See, I packed everything myself. This is a blanket, for cold nights. I have a little food, too. I also brought bandages, 'cause I'm a little clumsy. I have to do a lot of bandaging.

I must have had a mom and dad at some time, but I don't really remember them. I had a brother too, but he's dead. A wild boar savaged them both. I was the only survivor. He was nice, though--kinda irritating, as _aniki_s go, but a nice guy all the same.

This? Oh the plasters on my cheek? It's just a scratch. No, please don't. They just itch a little, is all. I might grow my hair longer to cover them now.

I do not know where I am going, only that I am heading eastwards. My _aniki_ gave me a headband when I was younger. I don't know what the symbol on it reads, so sometimes I wear it with the symbol showing and sometimes I don't. A demon I met tells me the symbol is 'Ki' or 'joy', and it is a sign that the wearer has the protection of the Tougenkyou Demon Union--whatever that is. He said to keep walking east until I came to a town called Hattarei. In this town there are quarters where the T.D.U. takes in orphans and kids. I told him maybe they wouldn't accept me because I was only half a demon, but he just laughed and said 'Kid, they may hate you and scorn you, but they can't turn you away while you have that headband. You have one smart _aniki _there.'

I don't know if I'm ever going back to where I came from. I don't even know the way. But I know I will not come back until I finally have a place to go.

*

What is my name? I have none. What is my age? I am young, but becoming older by the day. It's not the first time I've travelled alone, and I travel very light. See, just blankets and bandages. I can kill with these hands, I know I can. Yes, this sword is very useful, too.

I came from nothing and left nothing. No, wait, I left behind a little brother. He's really a sweet lad, always so eager to please and such innocence shining in his eyes. No, I don't really miss him. I refuse to let myself do so. He died recently. Savaged by a boar. My family, too.

This red flower? It's just a memory of where I came from and where I've been.

I do not know where I am going; I only have the vague sensation I am headed westwards. I intend on getting as far away from everything as possible. The West is remote and mysterious. That is where I am headed. Passers-by stare at this silly youth who don't know where he's going and walk on. I just shrug and continue.

I don't think I will ever go back to where I came from. Not until I finally have a place to go to.

_ Not until we both have a place we can finally call home again._


End file.
